Humanitarian Issues

[ninathedog]

Swiss President announces
plans to break Gaza siege

2011/03/24
Ahlul Bayt News Agency
ABNA.co

Swiss President Micheline Calmy-Rey has announced her country is developing a project to open up all crossings to the Gaza Strip, which has been suffocating for the last five years from an Israeli blockade.

Swiss President announces plans to break Gaza siegeGAZA (Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Swiss President Micheline Calmy-Rey has announced her country is developing a project to open up all crossings to the Gaza Strip, which has been suffocating for the last five years from an Israeli blockade.

She also said if Egypt would agree to open the Rafah crossing to bring in building materials and commodities, her country would be ready to restore it.

The statements came Monday during a meeting with several high-profile politicians in Europe staged by the European-Palestinian relations council.

They met to discuss Switzerland's role in supporting the democratic movements sweeping the Mideast and issues affecting Palestine.

Discussions included British MP Lord Andrew Phillips, member of European Parliament Alexandra Faith, MEP Derek Vaughan from Wales, and Swiss MP Geri Müller.

For his part, Lord Andrew Phillips, who headed the delegation, said world silence was to blame for Israel's obstinacy, saying that Tel Aviv understands that silence over recent attacks has provided a green light for more attacks.

Swiss MP Geri Müller emphasized the importance of Switzerland's role in preserving the Geneva Convention brokered in the Swiss capital and stopping Israel from violating it.

Switzerland has recognized elections in Palestinian and kept contacts with both Fatah and Hamas.

abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&id=233093


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



Palestinian gov't lauds Egypt for
its position against Israeli aggression

2011/03/24
Ahlul Bayt News Agency
ABNA.co

The Palestinian government headed by premier Ismail Haneyya hailed the Egyptian foreign ministry for condemning the ongoing Israeli military aggression against the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian gov(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - The Palestinian government headed by premier Ismail Haneyya hailed the Egyptian foreign ministry for condemning the ongoing Israeli military aggression against the Gaza Strip.

"We appreciate the position of Egyptian foreign minister Nabil Al-Arabi who warned the Zionist entity of taking any military action against Gaza, and stress at the same time our keenness on restoring stability," spokesman for the government Taher Al-Nunu stated on Wednesday.

Egyptian foreign minister Nabil Al-Arabi had said that his country denounces the targeting of civilians and demanded Israel to stop its aggression against the Strip.

abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&Id=233096

[ninathedog]

Palestine's Youth Revolt

In the West Bank and Gaza, young Palestinian activists are taking to the streets to
demand change from their feuding political leaders.

BY NOUR ODEH | MARCH 23, 2011
Foreign Policy Magazine

RAMALLAH —The youth of occupied Palestine, like their compatriots across the Middle East, are starting to demand changes from their divided and unresponsive leadership.



They call themselves the March 15 Youth, after the date of their first major demonstration. In Gaza, nearly 100,000 people came out last week to rally for unity, and another 4,000 demonstrated peacefully in the West Bank city of Ramallah. The demonstrations and sit-ins have not stopped since then, with marches occurring in the West Bank cities of Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, and Nablus.

The protesters have been marching, staging sit-ins, and even fasting to protest the failure of Palestinian political parties to end the division between the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and the Palestinian Authority (PA), which is dominated by Fatah, in the West Bank. And the Palestinian political class has clearly received the message: On March 16, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas made the surprise announcement that he was prepared to travel to Gaza for reconciliation talks.

These efforts to reestablish Palestinian unity will now be sorely tested following the deadly bombing at a Jerusalem bus stop on March 23, which killed one person and injured dozens more. The growing tensions between Israel and Hamas will only make it harder for the Palestinian factions to find common ground.

However, roadblocks on the path to Palestinian unity are nothing new. The split in the Palestinian leadership dates back to June 2007, when Hamas militiamen took over the Gaza Strip following bloody battles with PA forces and Fatah supporters that left hundreds dead and injured. The division has only become more entrenched since then, with the Palestinian factions engaging in endless squabbling and abortive attempts to form a unity government.

The activists say that the continued division undermines their dream of a united and independent Palestine. "We are fed up with factions," Fadi Al-Sheikh Yousef, the March 15 media coordinator in Gaza, told me. "We have lost faith in them and place our trust in Palestine."

And the people of the West Bank and Gaza seem to agree. A December opinion poll conducted by Near East Consulting reported that 41 percent of Palestinians don't trust any faction, and surveys over the past three years have also shown that achieving unity was a top national priority, even surpassing ending the Israeli occupation. In February, another survey reported that 76 percent of Palestinians support a peaceful revolt against the internal division. With the overwhelming majority of Palestinians under the age of 30, the youth movement speaks to a broad swath of Palestinian society.

In a televised speech on March 16, Abbas announced that he was ready to go to Gaza "to end the division and form a unity government with independent ministers." He said he was ready to travel to Gaza "tomorrow," and while no date has yet been set for his visit, preparations are already underway.

The response was almost immediate. In Gaza, a Hamas spokesperson welcomed the announcement, saying, "We will start preparing for the visit." Divisions within Hamas's ranks in recent days, however, have cast some doubt on whether the movement will welcome Abbas in Gaza. Hamas leaders in Syria and leaders of its armed wing are reportedly opposed to the visit, conditioning Abbas's presence in Gaza to the release of Hamas fighters held by the Palestinian Authority. Other Hamas figures have suggested that more rounds of dialogue between the factions, which have failed in the past, must be launched before the visit can commence.

Nevertheless, the two sides are still hard at work on organizing the details of the visit. On March 17, representatives of all factions, including Hamas, met in Nablus to coordinate what to do next. Momentum is picking up, with Palestinian media confirming that Abbas has ordered the arrangement of the final details of the trip. Abbas has reportedly also dispatched a delegation to Gaza to deal with the on-ground preparations.

Abbas's announcement is not the only indication of the youth movement's newfound power. Fatah Central Committee member Mohamad Shtayeh told me that he recently opened a Twitter account to better understand the youth's grassroots effort. "These young Palestinians give us all hope, he said: "They are forming the public pressure factions need to move toward unity."

That's not to say that the youth movement has accomplished its goals just yet. Yusra Al-Jamous, an activist in Ramallah, told me she thinks Abbas's initiative is only meant to defuse public pressure, and casts doubt on the commitment of Hamas and Fatah to achieve unity. "They haven't done enough to earn our trust," she said.

Jamous said that the rallies were a welcome sign of Palestinian unity after years of feuding between Fatah and Hamas, both of which she blames for the continued division. "The people are not divided," she told me. "The politicians are."

Whatever happens with Abbas's visit, the protesters aren't looking to overthrow anyone, despite admitting inspiration from revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia. They say that events in other countries gave them courage to try to change the political system, but insist their activism is different. "Those revolutions were about overthrowing a regime or system, but we are struggling to restore the system here," said Fadi, a 24-year-old activist in Gaza.

However, Hamas in particular has seen these demonstrations as more of a threat than an opportunity. Hundreds of plainclothes Hamas security forces attacked the unity demonstrators on March 15 in the Gaza Strip, sending at least five people to the hospital. When I spoke to Fadi, he was in hiding and nursing a broken leg and many bruises -- his trophies, as he described them, from the protest. In the West Bank, security officers did not attack the activists, but differences among the pro-unity youth resulted in several scuffles. Activists in Ramallah said some people at the rallies, some of whom they believed to be Fatah supporters, were intent on sabotaging their sit-in and voiced dissatisfaction with PA police officers for not intervening to stop the fights. Some of the instigators of these fights are believed to be Fatah supporters.

Like several other March 15 Youth organizers, Fadi's name and photo are available to Hamas officers now manning make-shift checkpoints across the Gaza Strip. Fadi, however, has found a way to make a difference without risking arrest. "I'm not in the street, but I'm heading the central command room," he told me. From his secret location, he coordinated between the activists on the street, collected videos and pictures, and made sure they were distributed widely. "I have plenty to do," he said, with an enthusiastic laugh.

www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/03/23/palestines_youth_revolt

[ninathedog]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IsGDPZ6fhQ

[ninathedog]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRQTJuqxWyw

Uploaded by antimafiamilitante on Mar 24, 2011

free palestine: www.facebook.com/pages/Vittorio-Arrigoni/290463280451

In the last hours I witnessed a brutal escalation of Israeli attacks against civilians in Gaza.

10 dead, 5 of them were children.

In this video, taken this evening at 5: 45 pm by one of the windows of my house, one of the terrible Israeli drones UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), flying over the port of Gaza City.

Stay Human

Vittorio Arrigoni from Gaza City.
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/pages/Vittorio-Arrigoni/290463280451

1 February 2009: A 13-year-old girl who was asleep in her bed; three primary school-age boys who were carrying sugar canes; two young women on their way to a shelter in search of safety; a 13-year-old boy on his bicycle; eight secondary school students who were waiting for the school bus to take them home; an entire family sitting outside their home -- these are among the many victims of missiles fired from Israeli UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), commonly known as drones.

Here in Gaza people call the drones "zannana", an onomatopoeic description reflecting the buzzing sound that they emit as they fly overhead. Their main function is surveillance, but, in recent years, Israeli forces have also used them to fire missiles, often to assassinate "wanted" Palestinians.

An Israeli journalist told us that the military censor does not permit Israeli media to publish any reference to strikes by drones. These missiles seem to be very precise, with a relatively small but concentrated radius. Yet, they have killed or injured hundreds of civilians, including many children, though the reason for this -- whether due to faulty intelligence, wanton recklessness, or a combination of the two -- is unclear.

In many of the cases we investigated, we found a consistent pattern: each missile is packed with tiny metal cubes that increase its lethal effect. These are blasted with extreme force, penetrating through metal doors and steel pylons and embedding deep into concrete walls.

Today, we visited the place where a missile fired from a drone killed two women and three children from the same family on the morning of 15 January. It was in a Bedouin village on the outskirts of Beit Lahiya, in north Gaza. Those killed were three children, their mother and their grandmother.

The family's home had been destroyed some 10 days earlier by the blast from a powerful air strike that apparently targeted a nearby tunnel. After this, the family had gone to stay with relatives across the road. The two women and three children were killed by the missile when they returned to the remains of their home to retrieve some of their possessions.

Earlier, we investigated several other cases in the Khan Yunis area, in the south of the Gaza Strip. There, the latest drone attack had occurred on 29 January, despite the 11-day-old ceasefire, in the centre of Khan Yunis.

The target, it seems, were two suspected Palestinian militants who were riding a motorcycle. They were hit and injured, but so too were 16 civilians, almost all of them children, as might have been predicted considering the location and time of the missile strike.

It was launched at a point opposite the hospital, only a few metres distant from the entrance to a UN primary school and directly in front of a row of food stalls. The attack was launched at 11.30am, just as children were leaving school at the end of the morning lessons.

On 2 January, three boys from the al-Astal family -- eight-year-old Abderrabbo, his brother Mohammed, aged 11, and Abd-al-Sattar al-Astal, also just 11 -- were killed by a missile fired from a drone while collecting sugar cane in al-Qarara, north-east of Khan Yunis. At the scene, we again found metal posts peppered with the signature square holes from the shrapnel blasted from the drone missile.

Another characteristic of these missiles is a small hole that penetrates deep into the ground, leaving few remains. We asked to borrow a shovel from local farmers in order to dig down and try to recover any remains from the missile. At this, some village youths stepped up enthusiastically and began to dig into the sandy ground.

Some six feet down, they recovered small parts of the circuit board and other shards of the missile. We urged the children's family to hold on to these and keep them safe, as possible evidence to be considered in any future investigation.

[ninathedog]

'IDF will have to carry out
large-scale Gaza operation'

By JPOST.COM STAFF 
03/25/2011 09:14

Sa'ar says rockets will force Israel into campaign bigger than Operation Cast Lead;
Mofaz warns diplomatic stalemate endangering lives.
 
Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar (Likud) on Friday said that he estimates that the IDF will eventually have to carry out a large-scale operation in the Gaza Strip, bigger than Operation Cast Lead. Sa'ar made the comments in an interview with Israel Radio.

www.google.com/search?q=operation+cast+lead

Sa'ar said that he understood local authorities in the South who decided to cancel school in light of increased rocket and mortar fire, but emphasized that the Home Front Command said that studies could continue as usual.

Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman MK Shaul Mofaz (Kadima) on Friday warned that the continuing stalemate in the peace process endangers lives and the government must not miss the opportunity to advance on this front. Mofaz's comments came in an interview with Israel Radio.

Mofaz said that Israel is in need of a strategy that advances the diplomatic process with the Palestinians and talks with the Syrians, while simultaneously stopping the rocket terror.

The former IDF chief of General Staff said that the Palestinians had crossed a red line recently, and that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu must determine how to halt continued rocket attacks on the South.

Mofaz stated that if he was prime minister he would consider renewing targeted killings of terrorists.

www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=213813

[ninathedog]

Netanyahu: Israel ready to react with
'great force'

Published yesterday (updated) 26/03/2011 11:53
Ma'an News Agency

CAESAREA, Israel (AFP) -- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US Defense Secretary Robert Gates Friday that Israel is ready to act with "great force" in response to a spate of rocket fire by Gaza militants and a deadly bus bombing in Jerusalem.

Israel had been "subjected to bouts of terror and rocket attacks," Netanyahu told reporters before going into a meeting with Gates.

"We stand ready to act with great force and great determination to put a stop to it," he added, with officials saying Israel had not been hit by any projectiles Friday morning.

"Any civilized society will not tolerate such wanton attacks on its civilians," he said.

However, as Netanyahu spoke, Defense Minister Ehud Barak toured the Gaza border with army chief Lieutenant General Benny Gantz, saying that the situation seemed to be calming down.

"In the last 24 hours there has been no fire into our territory, but we continue to monitor the situation," Barak said, according to a statement from his office.

And Barak indicated that if the rocket attacks stopped, Israel would also halt its strikes into the Gaza Strip.

"We don't intend to let the terror organizations again disturb the order but we will do all we need to to return the [military] activity to the border line itself," he said.

Also, Barak said, Israel will deploy its "Iron Dome" multi-million-dollar missile defense system in southern Israel for the first time next week in the wake of rocket attacks.

"I authorized the army to deploy in the next few days the first battery of "Iron Dome" for an operational trial," he said.

The deployment of the Iron Dome interceptor, designed to combat short-range rocket threats from Gaza and Lebanon, has been delayed until now with officials saying operating crews needed more training and suggestions the system was prohibitively expensive.

Gates, a former CIA director with years of experience in Washington, said US-Israel security ties were as strong as they had ever been at a time when the region was in "turmoil."

On Thursday, he said in Tel Aviv that Washington firmly backed Israel's right to respond both to the rocket fire and the Jerusalem bombing, which he described as "repugnant acts".

But he suggested Israel should tread carefully or risk derailing the course of popular unrest sweeping Arab and Muslim countries in the Middle East.

The US defense chief is pressing Israeli and Palestinian leaders to take "bold action" for peace despite soaring tensions, saying political upheaval in the region offered an opportunity.

After his meeting with Netanyahu, Gates traveled amid heavy security to the West Bank city of Ramallah to meet Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, the first such visit by a US defense chief.

Before their meeting, Fayyad told Gates it was a time of "great challenge throughout the region but also a time of opportunity, requiring a redoubling of the effort in pursuing the cause of peace, and justice and security."

Gates said he looked forward to discussing "prospects for a two-state solution".

Neither man made any statement following their roughly 45-minute meeting.

Israel's leaders have appeared reluctant to be dragged into another bloody war with Hamas, especially as they lacked international support for any new offensive on Gaza.

In the last week dozens of rockets have hit southern Israel. The vast majority of them were fired by Islamic Jihad's military wing, the Al-Quds Brigade.

Israel has responded with air strikes on Gaza.

Thursday's rocket fire on Ashdod came a day after the Al-Quds Brigades vowed to fire more at cities deep inside Israel as it entered "a new phase" of resistance.

And despite Hamas' pledge to rein in militants firing on Israel, Islamic Jihad's leadership insisted it would not stop its "resistance" unless Israel did the same.

www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=372240

[ninathedog]

Dan Rather's crew
'humiliated by Israeli security'

In a letter to Israeli officials, producer says legendary anchorman's crew
held up for hours at security checks, strip-searched before interview with
Deputy PM Meridor

Associated Press
Published: 03.25.11, 10:30 / Israel News
Ynetnews.com

A crew for Dan Rather was harassed and humiliated by Israeli security officials, a producer for his show has said, accusing them of forcing the staffers to drop their pants for a strip search before seeing a Cabinet minister.

The allegations, made in a letter to Israeli officials that was obtained by The Associated Press, add to growing complaints about how Israeli security officials treat foreign media.

Andrew Glazer, an Emmy-award winning producer at Dan Rather Reports, wrote that the legendary anchorman came to do a story about improving Israeli-Palestinian relations pitched by Israel's Foreign Ministry.

Glazer said problems mounted after they arrived. He said they were held up for hours at security checks. Israeli soldiers barred the crew's veteran Palestinian cameramen — a Jerusalem resident — from accompanying Rather to a West Bank neighborhood. And then came the strip search before an interview with Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor.

"Mr. Rather said that in his career, he had never seen a crew forced to strip prior to an interview — including the one he conducted with Saddam Hussein," Glazer wrote.

Reached in New York, Glazer acknowledged sending a letter to several people in the Israeli government, but he would not discuss its contents or say when the events took place.

Glazer said in the Jan. 25 letter that the team held advance consultations with government and military officials and had a good experience with Palestinian security officials.

Israel's relationship with the foreign media is often testy, with some Israeli officials accusing journalists of sympathizing with the Palestinians and disregarding Israel's legitimate security concerns.

Journalists' recurring problems with chaotic and intrusive security, at Israel's international airport and entering government offices, have strained relations even further.

The new director of Israel's Government Press Office, Oren Helman, has vowed to usher in a new era of cordial relations with the hundreds of foreign journalists based in Israel. His pledges have not filtered down to the security agents who inspect journalists before entering official events with top officials.

www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4047674,00.html

(many thanks to Gaza TV News)

[ninathedog]

[OccupationNews] Digest Number 1332

Fri Mar 25, 2011 8:39 pm (PDT)


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

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

*Palestinian Killed In Syria Protests* <http://www.imemc. org/article/ 60942>
IMEMC - Saturday March 26, 2011 - 01:08, The Maan News Agency reported
that a Palestinian man, originally from Gaza, was killed after gunmen
opened fire at a vehicle carrying him, a physician and a nurse in Dir'a
city in Syria.

*Weekly Non-violent ProtestsSuppressed In The West Bank*
<http://www.imemc. org/article/ 60941>
IMEMC - Saturday March 26, 2011 - 00:47, Three protesters were injured
and 13 arrested when Israeli troops forcibly suppressed weekly anti-wall
protest marches in several locations across the West Bank.

*Head of Popular Committee in Nabi Saleh Arrested*
<http://www.imemc. org/article/ 60939>
IMEMC - Friday March 25, 2011 - 16:17, Bassem at-Tamimi, the head of the
Popular Committee Against the Wall & Settlements in an-Nabi Saleh, has
been arrested by the Israeli military on Thursday.

*Detention of Gazan Engineer Extended by Israeli Magistrates Court*
<http://www.imemc. org/article/ 60938>
IMEMC - Friday March 25, 2011 - 15:37, The detention of an engineer from
the Gaza Strip, Dirar Abu Sissi, has been extended by seven days by the
magistrates court in Petah Tikva.

*9 Detained From Hebron District* <http://www.imemc. org/article/ 60937>
IMEMC - Friday March 25, 2011 - 15:25, Nine Palestinian residents from
the district of Hebron were detained, on Thursday, in several locations
according to the Ma'an News Agency.

*Israeli Air Force Strikes Gaza* <http://www.imemc. org/article/ 60936>
IMEMC - Friday March 25, 2011 - 15:12, Following the continuation of
escalating tension in the Gaza Strip and the south of Israel, the
Israeli Air Force has carried out bombings into Gaza City, on Thursday.

*Palestinian Wounded By Israeli Gun Fire, Soldier Wounded by Stone*
<http://www.imemc. org/article/ 60935>
IMEMC - Friday March 25, 2011 - 14:19, In Jericho, a Palestinian man was
wounded by Israeli fire on Friday morning, after throwing stones at an
Israeli soldier near the settlement of Tomer in the Jordan Valley. The
soldier's wounds to his head were described as serious.

*Gaza Children Stand In Solidarity With Japanese Children*
<http://www.imemc. org/article/ 60934>
IMEMC - Friday March 25, 2011 - 11:42, Dozens of Palestinian children in
the besieged and impoverished Gaza Strip sent letters to Japanese
children to express solidarity with them after the massive earthquake
that hit Japan and the Tsunami that followed, the Palestine News Network
(PNN), reported.

*PCHR Weekly Report: 10 Palestinians, including 4 children, killed by
Israeli troops this week* <http://www.imemc. org/article/ 60933>
IMEMC - Friday March 25, 2011 - 10:58, In its Weekly Report On Israeli
Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory for the
week of 17-23 March 2011, 10 Palestinians, including 4 children, were
killed by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip. The victims include 6 civilians.

*Palestinian Resistance Fires Shells At Ashkelon*
<http://www.imemc. org/article/ 60932>
IMEMC - Friday March 25, 2011 - 04:57, The National Resistance Brigades,
the armed wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine
(DFLP), and the al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad,
claimed joint responsibility for firing two Grad missiles into Ashkelon
on Friday at dawn. The attacks came after the army carried out a series
of air strikes.

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

*Settlers 'install fence' at Palestinian home*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=372138>
3/25/2011 - TUBAS (Ma'an) -- Settlers from the illegal settlement of
Miskiyut, protected by Israeli soldiers, installed a barbed wire fence
around a Palestinian homeon Thursday. The settlers barred residents from
moving inside or outside the house while installing the fence around the
barns of sheep and cows there, according to Palestinian and
international peace activists... .

*Israeli forces demolish Palestinian tent in Tubas*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=372267>
3/25/2011 - TUBAS (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces on Friday demolished a tent
belonging to Palestinians in the northern West Bank, a day after Israeli
settlers erected a tent in the same area. On Thursday, residents of the
illegal Maskiot settlement put up a tent by the Ein Al-Helwa village,
north of the Jordan Valley, on land....

*Israel breaks up anti-wall protests across West Bank*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=372298>
3/25/2011 - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces used tear-gas to break
up anti-wall protests in villages across the West Bank on Friday.
Undeterred by the rain, demonstrators focused on Palestinian national
unity as well as an end to Israel's occupation. Hunger strikers from the
March 15 youth movement left Ramallah's Manara square....

*Netanyahu: Israel ready to react with 'great force'*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=372240>
3/25/2011 - CAESAREA, Israel (AFP) -- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
told US Defense Secretary Robert Gates Friday that Israel is ready to
act with "great force" in response to a spate of rocket fire by Gaza
militants and a deadly bus bombing in Jerusalem. Israel had been
"subjected to bouts of terror and rocket attacks," Netanyahu told
reporters... .

*Gaza crossing closed for weekend*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=372190>
3/25/2011 - GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli authorities shut down the Karem
Shalom crossing for the movement of goods for Friday and Saturday.
Palestinian coordination official Raed Fattouh in Gaza told Ma'an that
the Karem Shalom terminal would open Sunday morning as usual....

*Hamas govt promises to ease media restrictions*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=372297>
3/25/2011 - GAZA CITY (Ma'an) The head of the media office of the Gaza
government, Hassen Abu Hasheesh, said Friday that the ministry of
interior decided to end harassment of journalists in the Gaza
Strip."After consulting with the minister of interior, Fathi Hammad, and
as a result of a quick meeting between media colleagues.. ..

*Palestinian shot after injuring soldier*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=372195>
3/25/2011 - JERICHO (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces on Friday morning shot a
Palestinian man near Jericho after the Palestinian threw a rock at a
soldier, seriously injuring him, a Ma'an correspondent said....

*Israel to deploy 'Iron Dome' anti-rocket system*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=372346>
3/25/2011 - JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel will deploy its "Iron Dome"
multi-million- dollar missile defense system in southern Israel for the
first time next week in the wake of rocket attacks from Gaza, officials
said Friday." I authorized the army to deploy in the next few days the
first battery of "Iron Dome" for an operational trial," Defense Minister....

*Joint claim of responsibility for Ashkelon attack*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=372180>
3/25/2011 - GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- The armed wings of two Palestinian
factions claimed joint responsibility Thursday for firing Grad rockets
at Ashkelon."The shelling was in response to Israel's escalations
against our unarmed people," a joint statement from the Democratic Front
for the Liberation of Palestine's National Resistance Brigades and
Islamic....

*Oxfam calls for calm*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=372236>
3/25/2011 - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- With violence escalating over the past
week, now is the time for both Palestinians and Israelis to show
immediate restraint, said the humanitarian aid agency Oxfam on Friday."
At a time of great uncertainty in the Middle East, we cannot afford to
let senseless casualties mount. The protection of civilians on....

*Detained man's wife appeals to PA*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=372238>
3/25/2011 - GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- The wife of a Palestinian detained by
Israeli forces appealed to Palestinian Authority Civil Affairs chairman
Hussein Al-Sheikh to lobby for his release. Israeli forces detained
Wisam Abu Samra on Thursday at the Erez crossing on the Israeli-Gaza
border as he tried to enter the Gaza Strip. Abu Samra works....

*Palestinian detainee suffers stroke*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=372243>
3/25/2011 - GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- A Palestinian man detained in an
Israeli prison for over 30 years had a stroke on Friday, Detainees'
Affairs Minister Issa Qaraqe said. Qaraqe said Israel's prison
administration was responsible for Akram Mansour's life. The 51-year-old
from Qalqiliya was detained by Israeli forces in....

*Witnesses: 2 Palestinians detained at checkpoint*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=372320>
3/25/2011 - Jenin (Ma'an) -- Israeli soldiers on Friday detained two men
at the Al-Hamra checkpoint in the northern West Bank, witnesses said.
Onlookers said Israeli forces stopped a public taxi on the road between
Tubas and Jericho and detained two passengers. The men were taken to an
unknown location. They are yet to be identified.. ..

*Jerusalem runs first marathon despite bomb, protests*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=372280>
3/25/2011 - JERUSALEM (AFP) -- In the shadow of a fatal bus bombing and
in the face of opposition from Palestinians and leftist Israelis, about
10,000 runners took part on Friday in Jerusalem's first-ever marathon.
The race, which passes through stretches of the city's annexed
Palestinian eastern sector, forced the closure of many city....

*Gaza children gather to support Japan*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=372209>
3/25/2011 - GAZA CITY (Ma'an) - Children gathered in Gaza City on
Thursday in solidarity with the victims of Japan's devastating
earthquake. Over 100 children held banners and slogans outside the
Al-Nower education center to show their support for Japan, where more
than 25,000 people are dead or missing. Nour Breikh, 11, explained, "We....

*Turkey 'deeply concerned' over violence*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=372231>
3/25/2011 - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The government of Turkey is "deeply
concerned" with the re-escalation of violence in the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict in the past days, its foreign ministry said in a statement
Thursday."In this context, we condemn the disproportionate and
indiscriminative attacks launched by the Israeli military on 22 March
2011 against the Gaza Strip....

*PLO: Violence underscores urgency of ending occupation*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=372296>
3/25/2011 - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The recent violence in the Gaza Strip
and Jerusalem indicates the urgent need to end the Palestinian- Israeli
conflict and the Israeli military occupation of the Palestinian people,
the PLO office in Washington said Friday."The Palestine Liberation
Organization and the Palestinian National Authority have condemned of
all acts of violence against....

*Fayyad briefs US defense secretary*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=372321>
3/25/2011 - RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Palestinian Authority Prime Minister
Salam Fayyad met Thursday with United States Secretary of Defense Robert
Gates in Ramallah. Fayyad briefed Gates on the latest political
developments in the Palestinian arena and the achievements of the PA, as
well as efforts to continue building institutions for a Palestinian
state. The Ramallah premier....

*Fatah official urges Hamas to accept unity deal*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=372342>
3/25/2011 - RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Senior Fatah official At-Tayyeb Abdul
Rahim on Friday urged Hamas to respond urgently to President Mahmoud
Abbas' initiative for reconciliation between the rival West Bank and
Gaza governments. Speaking at the third National Congress of the
Palestinian Democratic Union, Abdul Rahim said the division must end in
order to end....

*Priceless Egypt artifacts still missing*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=372279>
3/25/2011 - CAIRO (AFP) -- Egyptian officials said on Friday that 800
priceless artifacts were still missing after armed robbers raided a
warehouse near the canal city of Ismailiya in the unrest following a
popular revolt." An inventory of the East Qantara warehouse which houses
antiquities from the provinces on the Suez Canal and Sinai has revealed
the....

*Allies hit Gadhafi forces in 'weeks-long' campaign*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=372293>
3/25/2011 - TRIPOLI (AFP) -- Coalition forces launched a seventh day of
airstrikes against the regime of Libya's Moammar Gadhafi on Friday in
the NATO-led campaign which France's military chief predicted would last
"weeks." NATO agreed to take control of a no-fly zone over Libya to
thwart Gadhafi loyalists while British and French warplanes... .

*Man dies, 130 injured in Jordan clashes*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=372334>
3/25/2011 - AMMAN, Jordan (AFP) - A man died and 130 people were injured
on Friday as pro-reform protesters and government supporters clashed in
Amman, prompting police to use water cannons to disperse them." Khairy
Saad Jamil, 55, died today at the Prince Hamzeh Hospital" in Amman, a
medical source told AFP without specifying the cause of death....

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

*Protests Spread in Syria*
<http://palestinenot e.com/blogs/ topnews/archive/ 2011/03/25/ protests- spread-in- syria.aspx>
Palestine Note 25 Mar 2011 - Thousands in rival rallies across Yemen;
Clashes at Jordanian demonstrations Reuters - Protests spread across
Syria Friday, challenging the rule of the Assad family after their
forces killed dozens of demonstrators in the south. In the southern city
of Deraa,...

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

*Two dead, scores hurt in Jordanian clashes*
<http://english. aljazeera. net//news/ middleeast/ 2011/03/20113251 7059876641. html>
AlJazeera 25 Mar 2011 - Two killed and 100 injured in clashes in Amman
as kingdom's prime minister warns of chaos and consequences.

*Libyan rebels enter Ajdabiya town*
<http://english. aljazeera. net//news/ africa/2011/ 03/2011325213232 92102.html>
AlJazeera 25 Mar 2011 - The gain followed air strikes by coalition
forces against Gaddafi's forces in the strategic town.

*Live Blog Libya - March 26*
<http://english. aljazeera. net/http: //blogs.aljazeer a.net/live/ africa/live- blog-libya- march-26>
AlJazeera 25 Mar 2011 - As the uprising in Libya continues, we update
you with the latest developments from our correspondents, news agencies
and citizens across the globe.

*Dubai set for world's richest horse race*
<http://english. aljazeera. net/video/ middleeast/ 2011/03/20113252 01514502696. html>
AlJazeera 25 Mar 2011 - Anticipation rises as horse racing fans get
ready for this weekend's $10m Dubai World Cup.

*Canadian government loses no-confidence vote*
<http://english. aljazeera. net//news/ americas/ 2011/03/20113251 9553661395. html>
AlJazeera 25 Mar 2011 - Election expected in early May after prime
minister loses vote citing government as being in contempt of parliament.

*New Zealand stun South Africa at World Cup*
<http://english. aljazeera. net//sport/ cricket/2011/ 03/2011325183646 330367.html>
AlJazeera 25 Mar 2011 - South Africans slump to a 49-run defeat to
extend their losing run at the knockout stages of the Cricket World Cup.

*Heavy security quells Bahraini protests*
<http://english. aljazeera. net/news/ middleeast/ 2011/03/20113251 7640695546. html>
AlJazeera 25 Mar 2011 - One man dies from suffocation as security forces
in Bahrain use tear gas to keep a lid on anti-government protests.

*Deaths as Syrian forces fire on protesters*
<http://english. aljazeera. net/news/ middleeast/ 2011/03/20113251 45817688433. html>
AlJazeera 25 Mar 2011 - At least 20 killed near Daraa, a witness tells
Al Jazeera, as anti-government protesters defy security crackdown.

*Thousands in Yemen march against Saleh*
<http://english. aljazeera. net/news/ middleeast/ 2011/03/20113251 1732578174. html>
AlJazeera 25 Mar 2011 - Crowds on the streets for protests dubbed a "day
of departure" but president delivers a defiant speech to supporters.

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

*Serving the Refugees of Dheisheh Camp: an Insight into the Popular
Committee*
<http://english. pnn.ps/index. php?option= com_content& task=view& id=9779&Itemid= 56>
PNN - By Alessandra Bajec - On a visit to Al-Feneiq Cultural Center,
meeting with well-respected Naji Owdah seemed to be a worthwhile
opportunity to familiarise with what work is done by a popular...

*Weekly Non-violent Protest Marches Suppressed in West Bank, Three
Injured*
<http://english. pnn.ps/index. php?option= com_content& task=view& id=9777&Itemid= 59>
PNN - Ramallah -- PNN -- Three protesters were injured and 13 arrested
when Israeli troops forcibly suppressed weekly anti-wall protest marches
in several locations across the West Bank. In Bil'in, a village in...

*PCHR Weekly Report: Ten Palestinians Killed, 24 Wounded Since Thursday*
<http://english. pnn.ps/index. php?option= com_content& task=view& id=9775&Itemid= 64>
PNN - Gaza -- PNN/PCHR - Ten Palestinians were killed, including four
children, and 24 wounded during a week of Israeli attacks on the West
Bank and Gaza Strip, according to the weekly report...

*Daily Roundup: Palestinians Evicted from Jordan Valley, Youth Arrested
in Balata Refugee Camp*
<http://english. pnn.ps/index. php?option= com_content& task=view& id=9774&Itemid= 64>
PNN - Jenin -- PNN - On Friday morning, Israeli troops forcibly evicted
a Palestinian family from their tent in the Ein al-Helwa region of the
northern Jordan Valley, making room for a tent...

*Continued Airstrikes Wound Three in Gaza City; Civilians Targeted in
Deir Balah and Beit Hanoun*
<http://english. pnn.ps/index. php?option= com_content& task=view& id=9773&Itemid= 56>
PNN - Gaza City -- PNN - Three Palestinians were wounded when continued
Israeli airstrike activity targeted neighborhoods of Gaza City.
Eyewitnesses said an F-16 fighter jet fired one missile at the al-Tufah
neighborhood. ..

*Palestinian Center for Human Rights* <http://pchrgaza. org/>
**
<http://www.pchrgaza .org/portal/ en/index. php?option= com_content& view=article& id=7307:unknown- persons-blow- womens-beauty- salon-in- rafah-and- car-of-the- assistant- comptroller- general-of- the-security- services- in-gaza-& catid=61: field-update- security- chaos-&Itemid= 211>
*Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied
Palestinian Territory (17-23 March 2011)*
<http://www.pchrgaza .org/portal/ en/index. php?option= com_content& view=article& id=7321:weekly- report-on- israeli-human- rights-violation s-in-the- occupied- palestinian- territory- 17-23-march- 2011&catid= 84:weekly- 2009&Itemid= 183>
Palestinian Center for Human Rights

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

*Tell me, who is the terrorist?!* <http://palsolidarit y.org/2011/ 03/17175/>
3/25/2011 - International Solidarity Movement - 24 March, ISM Gaza - Two
days ago, on March 22nd 2011, the Israeli army attacked a populated area
in the Al-Shejaija neighborhood, east of Gaza City. Four days after the
murder of two children in Johr Al-Dik, the Israeli army once again
killed civilians, amongst them two more children. The latest victims of
Israel'....

*Israeli forces arrest activists in Nabi Saleh*
<http://palsolidarit y.org/2011/ 03/17190/>
3/25/2011 - International Solidarity Movement - 25 March - Yesterday
afternoon nine people were arrested at a demonstration in the
Palestinian village of Nabi Saleh. Among the arrested were two ISM
activists along with one Danish, one Palestinian and five Israeli
protesters. Both ISM activists report being beaten by the Israeli
military whilst non-violently demonstrating. The Swedish activist was
pepper-sprayed in the....

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

*Le Conseil des droits de l'homme crée une Commission d'enquête sur les
violations des droits de l'homme en Côte d'Ivoire*
<http://www.reliefwe b.int/rw/ rwb.nsf/db900SID /MAPA-8FAN3R? OpenDocument& RSS20=02- P>
Relief Web 25 Mar 2011 - Source: UN Human Rights Committee

*Israel vows to respond as Gaza rockets rain down*
<http://www.reliefwe b.int/rw/ rwb.nsf/db900SID /KKAA-8FA74Z? OpenDocument& RSS20=02- P>
Relief Web 25 Mar 2011 - Source: Agence France-Presse

*Israel: Jerusalem Bombing an Indefensible Attack on Civilians*
<http://www.reliefwe b.int/rw/ rwb.nsf/db900SID /JARD-8FA4ZR? OpenDocument& RSS20=02- P>
Relief Web 24 Mar 2011 - Source: Human Rights Watch

*Request for United Nations Regular Budget Support of Palestine Refugee
Agency Receives Broad Backing, as Fourth Committee Text Heads to General
Assembly*
<http://www.reliefwe b.int/rw/ rwb.nsf/db900SID /JARD-8FA37D? OpenDocument& RSS20=02- P>
Relief Web 24 Mar 2011 - Source: UN General Assembly

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

*One protester killed by tear gas in Bahrain*
<http://www.thenatio nal.ae/news/ worldwide/ middle-east/ one-protester- killed-by- tear-gas- in-bahrain>
The National 25 Mar 2011 - There were reported clashes between
demonstrators, some of whom called for the fall of Bahrain's ruling
royal family, in the Shiite villages of al-Dair and Diraz.

*In Gaza, rocket attacks seen as a smokescreen*
<http://www.thenatio nal.ae/news/ worldwide/ middle-east/ in-gaza-rocket- attacks-seen- as-a-smokescreen>
The National 25 Mar 2011 - Residents of Gaza, analysts and long-time
observers here view a surge in rocket attacks by Hamas as the group's
way out of moving towards reconciliation with Fatah.

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

*Amnesty: At least 55 killed in a week of Syria protests*
<http://www.haaretz. com/news/ international/ amnesty-at- least-55- killed-in- a-week-of- syria-protests- 1.351866>
Ha'aretz - World leaders implored Syria's government to halt its violent
crackdown on protesters; UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calls for
'maximum restraint' by Syria.

*At least 23 said killed as protesters in Syria clash with security
forces*
<http://www.haaretz. com/news/ international/ at-least- 23-said-killed- as-protesters- in-syria- clash-with- security- forces-1. 351815>
Ha'aretz - Protesters clashed with police and government supporters
throughout Syria on 'Friday of Dignity'; protesters have been reported
dead in several cities.

*Aluf Benn / Caution: Middle East under construction*
<http://www.haaretz. com/weekend/ week-s-end/ caution-middle- east-under- construction- 1.351743>
Ha'aretz - Popular uprisings and internecine hostilities will lead to
the redrawing of regional maps, which will be a far cry from those
underlying the 1916 Sykes-Picot agreement and other accords

*Barak: Iron Dome missile defense system to be deployed next week*
<http://www.haaretz. com/news/ diplomacy- defense/barak- iron-dome- missile-defense- system-to- be-deployed- next-week- 1.351846>
Ha'aretz - The deployment of the missile defense system comes in
response to heightened shelling and rockets launched from Gaza to Israel
in the past week.

*Fayyad updates U.S. on plan for Palestinian statehood in 2011*
<http://www.haaretz. com/news/ diplomacy- defense/fayyad- updates-u- s-on-plan- for-palestinian- statehood- in-2011-1. 351839>
Ha'aretz - In meet with U.S. defense chief in Ramallah, the Palestinian
PM said Israeli restrictions obstruct Palestinian efforts to build state
institutions and criticized West bank settlement expansion.

*The private side of a public tragedy*
<http://www.haaretz. com/weekend/ week-s-end/ the-private- side-of-a- public-tragedy- 1.351740>
Ha'aretz - Against the crowds who see the political significance of the
murder of the Fogel family of Itamar vis-a-vis the background of their
various national goals, one man wishes to remind us that his loved ones
lost their lives

*Report: 6 killed as Libya rebels enter southern Gadhafi stronghold*
<http://www.haaretz. com/news/ international/ report-6- killed-as- libya-rebels- enter-southern- gadhafi-strongho ld-1.351878>
Ha'aretz - Casualties have overwhelmed the local medical clinic and
prompted international concern about the safety of civilians.

*Highly radioactive water found at reactor in crippled Japan nuclear
plant*
<http://www.haaretz. com/news/ international/ highly-radioacti ve-water- found-at- reactor-in- crippled- japan-nuclear- plant-1.351864>
Ha'aretz - Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, making his first public
statement on the crisis in a week, said the situation at the Fukushima
nuclear complex was 'nowhere near' being resolved.

*Barak: Israel holds Hamas responsible for Gaza rocket fire*
<http://www.haaretz. com/news/ diplomacy- defense/barak- israel-holds- hamas-responsibl e-for-gaza- rocket-fire- 1.351607>
Ha'aretz - Defense minister meets with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert
Gates, who urged Israel, Palestinians to take 'bold action' to reach peace.

*Netanyahu: Israel ready to act with full force to stop missiles*
<http://www.haaretz. com/news/ diplomacy- defense/netanyah u-israel- ready-to- act-with- full-force- to-stop-missiles -1.351824>
Ha'aretz - The prime minister spoke before meeting with U.S. defense
secretary; Netanyahu also promised a 'tough reaction' to Wednesday's
bombing in Jerusalem.

*U.S. defense chief pushes peace talks at Ramallah meet with Fayyad*
<http://www.haaretz. com/news/ diplomacy- defense/u- s-defense- chief-pushes- peace-talks- at-ramallah- meet-with- fayyad-1. 351817>
Ha'aretz - Robert Gates says he is looking forward to discussing
progress toward a two-state solution with the Palestinian PM; visit
comes after U.S.-sponsored negotiations froze in September.

*Report: Hamas calls on UN to halt Israel's strikes on Gaza*
<http://www.haaretz. com/news/ diplomacy- defense/report- hamas-calls- on-un-to- halt-israel- s-strikes- on-gaza-1. 351807>
Ha'aretz - Al-Quds Al-Arabi reports that Hamas spokesman also called on
Arab League to intervene to stop 'Israeli aggression' and stop Israel
from 'exploiting regional instability to carry out massacres against
Palestinians. ', Both soldier and Palestinian were trying to hitch a ride
when the Palestinian threw a stone at the soldier's head; police saw the
incident and fired at the Palestinian, lightly injuring him.

*Israeli academic chosen to join UN Human Rights Council committee*
<http://www.haaretz. com/news/ diplomacy- defense/israeli- academic- chosen-to- join-un-human- rights-council- committee- 1.351611>
Ha'aretz - Professor Frances Raday has been elected to a special Working
Group to accelerate the elimination of discrimination against women;
this is the first time a representative from Israel has been appointed
by the HRC.

*Netanyahu: Israel, Russia to face common threat if radical Islamist
regimes acquire nukes*
<http://www.haaretz. com/news/ diplomacy- defense/netanyah u-israel- russia-to- face-common- threat-if- radical-islamist -regimes- acquire-nukes- 1.351596>
Ha'aretz - In Moscow visit, PM urges Russia to increase pressure on Iran
over its nuclear program.

*Lieberman: West should deal with Iran and Syria like Libya*
<http://www.haaretz. com/news/ diplomacy- defense/lieberma n-west-should- deal-with- iran-and- syria-like- libya-1.351593>
Ha'aretz - After meeting French counterpart, Alain Juppe, FM also says
recent upsurge of violence on the Gaza border and Wednesday's bomb
attack in Jerusalem are 'incitement' by the Palestinians.

*Two Grad rockets from Gaza reach deep into Israel*
<http://www.haaretz. com/news/ diplomacy- defense/two- grad-rockets- from-gaza- reach-deep- into-israel- 1.351588>
Ha'aretz - Rockets explode near Ashdod, can be heard in Yavneh; Qassam
falls in Sderot; at least five mortars strike western Negev; attacks
come after day of IAF strikes on militant targets in Gaza.

*U.S. defense secretary arrives in Israel to push Mideast peace*
<http://www.haaretz. com/news/ diplomacy- defense/u- s-defense- secretary- arrives-in- israel-to- push-mideast- peace-1.351572>
Ha'aretz - Robert Gates, who called Wednesday's Jerusalem bombing 'a
horrific terrorist attack', was expected to use his visit to discuss
regional security concerns including Iran, but also to urge the
resumption of peace talks stalled since September 2010.

*Kadima to AG: Probe Netanyahu over allegedly corrupt travel funds*
<http://www.haaretz. com/news/ diplomacy- defense/kadima- to-ag-probe- netanyahu- over-allegedly- corrupt-travel- funds-1.351566>
Ha'aretz - The allegations against prime minister, aired by Israeli news
Channel 10 on Wednesday, claim the prime minister continued to accept
private sponsorship for flights even after his return to politics in 2003.

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

*Jordanian PM warns of chaos; man dies in Amman protest*
<http://www.jpost. com/MiddleEast/ Article.aspx? id=213869& R=R3>
Jeruslalem Post 25 Mar 2011 - Security forces break up clashes of
pro-monarchy supporters, reform protesters; 50 injured; PM to Islamists:
Where are you taking Jordan?

*Amnesty on Syria: 55 protesters believed killed in Deraa*
<http://www.jpost. com/MiddleEast/ Article.aspx? id=213867& R=R3>
Jeruslalem Post 25 Mar 2011 - Three reportedly killed in Damascus, 20 in
Sanamein; unrest spreads throughout country; Syrian information minister
says situation "completely calm"; White House weighs in, calls for end
to gov't violence, arrests.

*Security forces break up demonstration in Jordan, 1 dead*
<http://www.jpost. com/MiddleEast/ Article.aspx? id=213855& R=R3>
Jeruslalem Post 25 Mar 2011 - State security attempts to separate
pro-reform, pro-monarchy protesters in Amman square; demonstrators
attacked with rocks, stones; 50 injured.

*Bahrain complains over Hezbollah comments on protests*
<http://www.jpost. com/MiddleEast/ Article.aspx? id=213829& R=R3>
Jeruslalem Post 25 Mar 2011 - After Nasrallah offers help to protesters
in Bahrain, FM of Sunni-ruled Gulf kingdom says he will not tolerate
threats from a terrorist group.

*Palestinian tries to snatch IDF soldier's gun; shot in leg*
<http://www.jpost. com/Defense/ Article.aspx? ID=213814& R=R1>
Jeruslalem Post 25 Mar 2011 - Police fire on suspect after he attacks
soldier with rock on route 90 in Beka'at Hayarden region; both men
sustain moderate injuries.

*'IDF will have to carry out large-scale operation in Gaza'*
<http://www.jpost. com/DiplomacyAnd Politics/ Article.aspx? ID=213813& R=R1>
Jeruslalem Post 25 Mar 2011 - Likud minister Sa'ar says continuing
rocket attacks in South will eventually force Israel into military
campaign bigger than Operation Cast Lead; Kadima's Mofaz warns stalemate
in diplomatic process is endangering lives.

*IDF braces for rocket fire close to TA*
<http://www.jpost. com/NationalNews /Article. aspx?id=213797& R=R2>
Jeruslalem Post 25 Mar 2011 - Country prepares for possible further
expansion of missile fire from the Gaza Strip, to as far as Rishon
Lezion and Gedera.

*Undeterred by terror, J'lem Marathoners load on carbs*
<http://www.jpost. com/NationalNews /Article. aspx?id=213796& R=R2>
Jeruslalem Post 25 Mar 2011 - Ten thousand people are set to run the
marathon, half marathon, 10k, and 4.2-km. fun run in the first
international event.

*Shalev: UNGA 'Palestine' resolution may have real impact*
<http://www.jpost. com/Internationa l/Article. aspx?ID=213794& R=R1>
Jeruslalem Post 25 Mar 2011 - Shalev: Israel "only just found out" about
Resolution 377; same process used in 1981 to advance Namibian
independence, delegitimize S. Africa.

*UNHRC condemns Israel on Golan, okays Iran rapporteur*
<http://www.jpost. com/Internationa l/Article. aspx?ID=213791& R=R1>
Jeruslalem Post 25 Mar 2011 - A resolution calling for an immediate
cessation of any "settlement" construction in the Golan is the first of
six resolutions on Israel.

*Haniyeh to Islamic Jihad: Stop attacks on Israel*
<http://www.jpost. com/MiddleEast/ Article.aspx? id=213790& R=R3>
Jeruslalem Post 25 Mar 2011 - Two senior Islamic Jihad officials leave
Gaza for talks with group's leaders in Syria; Egypt appeals to Hamas to
work toward calming situation.

*Nowhere to run: Ashdod, Ashkelon grapple with rockets*
<http://www.jpost. com/NationalNews /Article. aspx?id=213788& R=R2>
Jeruslalem Post 25 Mar 2011 - "We need to go back to Gaza, fight this
problem from the ground up," urge rattled but resilient citizens, "But
this time finish the job."

*IDF strikes Gaza after rocket barrage slams South*
<http://www.jpost. com/Defense/ Article.aspx? ID=213733& R=R1>
Jeruslalem Post 24 Mar 2011 - Palestinians say Hamas targets hit by IAF
planes; 6 mortar shells land in Eshkol, 12 rockets fired deep into
Israel; Barak condemns attacks.

*Assad pledges new rights as 20,000 march for 37 dead*
<http://www.jpost. com/MiddleEast/ Article.aspx? id=213722& R=R3>
Jeruslalem Post 24 Mar 2011 - Syrian leader may lift state of emergency
as US ramps up criticism; president didn't order his forces to open
fire, adviser claims.

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

*Top Bush-era GITMO and Abu Ghraib psychologist is WH's newest
appointment* <http://uruknet. info/?p=m76205& hd=&size= 1&l=e>
Uruknet March 25, 2011 - One of the most intense scandals the field of
psychology has faced over the last decade is the involvement of several
of its members in enabling Bush's worldwide torture regime. Numerous
health professionals worked for the U.S. government to help understand
how best to mentally degrade and break down detainees. At the center of
that...

*Iraqi protesters rally in the rain*
<http://uruknet. info/?p=m76204& hd=&size= 1&l=e>
Uruknet March 25, 2011 -- Throngs of demonstrators protested in the rain
Friday, rallying in central Baghdad's Tahrir Square against corruption,
unemployment, the lack of basic services and the treatment of prisoners.
Several women also turned out at the square to call on the Iraqi
government to release sons and husbands who are in the prison awaiting
trial or investigation. ...

*At least 114 killed by coalition raids -- official*
<http://uruknet. info/?p=m76203& hd=&size= 1&l=e>
Uruknet March 25, 2011 -- The strikes on Libya by the coalition between
Sunday and Wednesday have killed at least 114 people, said an official
from the health ministry on Friday. A total of 104 people were killed in
Tripoli and the suburbs, while the other10 were killed in Sirte, the
hometown of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi, said the official...

*'Arab spring' drives wedge between U.S., Saudi Arabia*
<http://uruknet. info/?p=m76202& hd=&size= 1&l=e>
Uruknet March 25, 2011 --- The United States and Saudi Arabia --- whose
conflicted relationship has survived oil shocks, the Sept. 11, 2001
terrorist attacks and the U.S. invasion of Iraq --- are drifting apart
faster than at any time in recent history, according to diplomats,
analysts and former U.S. officials. The breach, punctuated by a series
of tense diplomatic.. .

*Tell me, who is the terrorist?!*
<http://uruknet. info/?p=m76201& hd=&size= 1&l=e>
Uruknet March 24, 2011 - Two days ago, on March 22nd 2011, the Israeli
army attacked a populated area in the Al-Shejaija neighborhood, east of
Gaza City. Four days after the murder of two children in Johr Al-Dik,
the Israeli army once again killed civilians, amongst them two more
children. The latest victims of Israel's war crimes are Yasser A'ahid...

*100 hurt in Jordan protests* <http://uruknet. info/?p=m76199& hd=&size= 1&l=e>
Uruknet March 25, 2011 -- More than 100 people were injured Friday as
pro-reform protesters and government supporters clashed in Amman,
prompting police to use water cannons to disperse them. Anti-riot police
also broke up a protest camp for students and arrested several of them,
a security official told AFP. "There are more than 100 people injured,
including policemen. Two...

*Deaths as Syrian forces fire on protesters*
<http://uruknet. info/?p=m76198& hd=&size= 1&l=e>
Uruknet March 25, 2011 - Syrian security forces have opened fire on
anti-government protesters near the city of Daraa, killing at least 20
people, according to one witness. "There are more than 20 martyrs ....
they [security forces] opened fire haphazardly, " the witness told Al
Jazeera. Reuters also reported that heavy gunfire could be heard in the
southern city, the focal...

*Iraqis Take to the Streets, Call for Real Democracy*
<http://uruknet. info/?p=m76197& hd=&size= 1&l=e>
Uruknet March 25, 2011 - The war in Iraq is supposedly over. The US
administration says the occupation, which began on March 20 eight years
ago, is ending as well, with the withdrawal of US combat troops. But as
the US, Great Britain and France begin another military intervention in
North Africa, their respective administrations are silent about the price...

*"Hands off the Tunisian Revolution" --- International Delegation of
Lawyers and Academics* <http://uruknet. info/?p=m76196& hd=&size= 1&l=e>
Uruknet

*Iraq snapshot - March 24, 2011*
<http://uruknet. info/?p=m76195& hd=&size= 1&l=e>
Uruknet March 24, 2011. Chaos and violence continue, Iraq still has no
vice presidents, it still can't pull together a Cabinet, a prison riot
takes place today, the faux peace 'leaders' emerge to . . . continue
their silence on Iraq, and more...The much celebrated withdrawal of the
last U.S. "combat" forces from Iraq has come and gone and yet 50,000
U.S. soldiers...

*Support Iraqi protesters in the Great Iraqi Revolution Joint Statement
Issued by the Preparatory Committee for 9.4.2011*
<http://uruknet. info/?p=m76194& hd=&size= 1&l=e>
Uruknet March 24, 2011 - After suffering which has lasted eight years,
during which our lives and dignity were violated, our livelihoods and
our wealth plundered, and the happiness and futures of our children
stolen, in the shadow of great oppression, a period the Iraqi people
dealt with great ...patience and with their known steadfastness in
facing crises; the moment...

*Freedom Rider: Obama's War in Libya*
<http://uruknet. info/?p=m76192& hd=&size= 1&l=e>
Uruknet March 24, 2011 - The continuity between the Bush and Obama
administration' s is now complete. Almost exactly eight years after Bush
invaded Iraq, Obama's Euro-American military alliance swooped down on
Libya to enforce a western world order. "Obama definitely took a page
out of the Bush administration recipe book," including "peddling scary
stories of poison gas stockpiled at a...

*U.S. doesn't count civilians killed by drones*
<http://uruknet. info/?p=m76190& hd=&size= 1&l=e>
Uruknet March 24, 2011 - The big focus of the Obama administration in
the last week has been, in President Obama's words, "to stop the
violence against civilians." That's in Libya, of course, where Moammar
Gadhafi was threatening to quell a rebellion based in Benghazi. In this
context, it's particularly striking to read the news from the ACLU --
which...

*Marines on ground in Libya* <http://uruknet. info/?p=m76189& hd=&size= 1&l=e>
Uruknet March 24, 2011 - An ABC affiliate in North Carolina says more
than 2,000 U.S. Marines are on the ground in Libya. WCTI-TV in New Bern
reports those Marines, assigned to the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit
(MEU) at Camp Lejuene, are "preserving the sanctity of the city [of
Ajdubiyah] and the safety of the civilians within it." Capt. Timothy...

*The stumbling, fumbling 'government' of Iraq*
<http://uruknet. info/?p=m76187& hd=&size= 1&l=e>
Uruknet March 24, 2011 - Al Mada reports on the announcement that
militia groups will lay down their weapons. The announcement comes as a
wave of assassination attempts plague Iraq and, the paper notes, as
Moqtada al-Sadr's bloc attempts to install Ahmed Chalabi as Minister of
the Interior. Which militia groups? It's not being announced. Alsumaria
TV adds, "Representatives of...

*Allies target Libyan ground forces after decimating airforce*
<http://uruknet. info/?p=m76186& hd=&size= 1&l=e>
Uruknet March 24, 2011 - US and allied forces today shifted focus on
hitting Libyan ground forces, targeting tanks and artillery to
obliterate Muammar Gaddafi's war waging machine, as French foreign
minister Alain Juppe warned that the campaign may go on for weeks. The
shift to attack the ground forces came after coalition commanders
claimed that Libyan air force had...

*Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied
Palestinian Territory (17-23 March 2011)*
<http://uruknet. info/?p=m76185& hd=&size= 1&l=e>
Uruknet March 24, 2011 - Israeli violations of international law and
humanitarian law in the OPT continued during the reporting period (17 --
23 March 2011): Shooting: During the reporting period, IOF killed 6
Palestinian civilians, including 4 children, and 4 Palestinian
resistance activists in the Gaza Strip. They also wounded 28
Palestinians, mostly civilians, including 11 children. In the...

*Libya says almost 100 civilians died in air strikes*
<http://uruknet. info/?p=m76184& hd=&size= 1&l=e>
Uruknet TRIPOLI, March 24, 2011 (Reuters) - Libya said on Thursday the
civilian death toll from five days of coalition air strikes had reached
almost 100 and accused Western governments of fighting on the side of
the rebels. Mussa Ibrahim, a government spokesman, also said the Libyan
government believed Western forces were planning to attack its
broadcasting infrastructure, possibly later...

*Syria says may scrap emergency law*
<http://uruknet. info/?p=m76183& hd=&size= 1&l=e>
Uruknet March 24, 2011 -- President Bashar al-Assad's government said on
Thursday it may scrap the decades-old emergency law following a week of
deadly protests in the southern city of Daraa. "I am happy to announce
to you the decisions made today by the Arab Baath party under the
auspices of President Bashar al-Assad... which include... studying the
possibility of...

*Depleted Uranium: A Strange Way To Protect Libyan Civilians*
<http://uruknet. info/?p=m76182& hd=&size= 1&l=e>
Uruknet March 24, 2011 - In the first 24 hours of the Libyan attack, US
B-2s dropped forty-five 2,000-pound bombs. These massive bombs, along
with the Cruise missiles launched from British and French planes and
ships, all contained depleted uranium (DU) warheads. DU is the waste
product from the process of enriching uranium ore. It is used in nuclear
weapons...

*Revolt Against American Militarism*
<http://uruknet. info/?p=m76181& hd=&size= 1&l=e>
Uruknet March 24, 2011 - ...This is no joke. The bombing and the cruise
missile attacks are killing people that are non-combatants. Women,
children the elderly as well as those that are non-political are dying,
killed by American weapons systems. The leadership in America is
committing war crimes. The hypocrisy of the United States is glaringly
evident when Obama called...

*Israeli soldiers arrest Bassem Tamimi, coordinator of Nabi Saleh
Popular Committee* <http://uruknet. info/?p=m76180& hd=&size= 1&l=e>
Uruknet Bassem Tamimi, coordinator of the Nabi Saleh popular committee,
was arrested when dozens of soldiers raided his house at noon today
beating his wife and daughter in the process. Only yesterday the
military court had ordered the indefinite remand of Naji Tamimi, another
member of the Nabi Saleh population committee...

*Israeli minister, media perpetuate lie about Goldstone's Gaza report*
<http://uruknet. info/?p=m76179& hd=&size= 1&l=e>
Uruknet March 24, 2011 - Eli Yishay, Israel's lethally incompetent
Interior Minister, is outraged that Judge Richard Goldstone, who headed
the UN Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza war, has not condemned attacks
on Israeli civilians. According to Ynet, Yishay sent a letter to
Goldstone in which he "demanded of Goldstone to condemn the firing from
Gaza as he did with...

*Libya rebels: Gaddafi could be right about al-Qaeda*
<http://uruknet. info/?p=m76177& hd=&size= 1&l=e>
Uruknet March 24, 2011 - The war on Libya now being waged by the US,
Britain and France must surely rank as one of the stupidest martial
enterprises, smaller in scale to be sure, since Napoleon took it into
his head to invade Russia in 1812. Let's start with the fierce
hand-to-hand combat between members of the coalition, arguing about...

*Kucinich Demands Immediate End to U.S. Role in the War in Libya*
<http://uruknet. info/?p=m76176& hd=&size= 1&l=e>
Uruknet Washington, March 24, 2011 - Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)
today wrote to President Obama that it was improper to commit the United
States to a military intervention in Libya without prior Congressional
approval, clear objectives and questioned the criteria used for
intervention. Kucinich also informed President Obama of his intent to
introduce a bipartisan amendment that would cut off...

*Anger in Syria over crackdown*
<http://uruknet. info/?p=m76166& hd=&size= 1&l=e>
Uruknet March 24, 2011 - Around 20,000 Syrians chanting freedom slogans
marched on Thursday at the funerals of nine protesters killed by
security forces in the southern city of Daraa, witnesses said. "The
blood of martyrs is not spilt in waste!" they chanted in Daraa's
southern cemetery. The nine were among at least 25 people shot dead by
security forces...

*The Guardian* <http://guardian. co.uk/world/ palestinian- territories>

*Jerusalem bus bomb: British officials lay wreath at attack site -
video*
<http://www.guardian .co.uk/world/ video/2011/ mar/25/jerusalem -bus-bomb- wreath-video>
The Guardian 25 Mar 2011 - UK envoys pay tributes to Mary Gardner, the
British student of Hebrew killed in an explosion blamed on Palestinian
militants

*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 - Feb 12, 2011-- 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. [

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

*MK Ben Eliezer back in intensive care*
<http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 4047747,00. html>
YNet News, 25 Mar 2011 - After regaining consciousness, former
minister's condition deteriorates again....

*Netanyahu: Israel ready to react with 'great force'*
<http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 4047701,00. html>
YNet News, 25 Mar 2011 - Following bouts of terror and rocket attacks,
prime miniter says: 'Any civilized... .

*Brussels: Pro-Palestinian groups stage anti-Israel street play*
<http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 4047699,00. html>
YNet News, 25 Mar 2011 - Activists dressed as IDF soldiers 'kill' boy
playing Palestinian; women cover....

*Dan Rather's crew 'humiliated by Israeli security'*
<http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 4047674,00. html>
YNet News, 25 Mar 2011 - In a letter to Israeli officials, producer says
legendary anchorman's crew held....

*Jordan Valley: Palestinian shot after attacking soldier*
<http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 4047658,00. html>
YNet News, 25 Mar 2011 - Balata resident hits soldier over head with
rock, tries to steal his weapon;....

*What riots? Syria in denial*
<http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 4047818,00. html>
YNet News, 25 Mar 2011 - As protests across Syria continue to grow,
prompting increasingly violent clashes and a mounting death toll, local
officials insist on dismissing the reports while ... ....

*Canada: Gaza rocket strikes 'criminal'*
<http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 4047780,00. html>
YNet News, 25 Mar 2011 - Strong support from North American ally: Canada
"vigorously condemns" a spate of rocket fire by Gaza groups against
Israel, Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon said ... ....

*Gaddafi promotes entire army*
<http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 4047795,00. html>
YNet News, 25 Mar 2011 - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is promoting all
members of his armed forces, Libyan state television said on Friday.
"(The) brother leader of the revolution has ... ....

*Bloody day in Syria, Jordan*
<http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 4047790,00. html>
YNet News, 25 Mar 2011 - Dozens of people were killed in Syria on Friday
as troops opened fire on protesters in several cities and pro- and
anti-government crowds clashed on the tense streets of ... ....

*Syrian protestors: Liberate Golan*
<http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 4047728,00. html>
YNet News, 25 Mar 2011 - Protesters in the Syrian city of Deraa shouted
slogans on Friday denouncing Maher Assad, brother of the Syrian
president and head of the Republican Guard, a Reuters ... ....

*UK terror victim's parents 'devastated by loss'*
<http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 4047771,00. html>
YNet News, 25 Mar 2011 - The elderly parents of Mary Jane Gardner,
killed in Wednesday's Jerusalem bombing, said they are "devastated by
the sudden loss of our daughter in this tragic and ... ....

*Barak: No 100% solution to rocket strikes*
<http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 4047759,00. html>
YNet News, 25 Mar 2011 - Israel's advanced anti-missile system, Iron
Dome, does not provide a full-proof solution to ongoing rocket attacks
from the Gaza Strip, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said ... ....

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

*IOF troops fire at, wound a Palestinian man who attacked an occupation
soldier*
<http://www.palestin e-info.co. uk/En/default. aspx?xyz= U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MD I46m9rUxJEpMO% 2bi1s73uTcxiYtHW DQGjT7qyjQs5% 2bnZm9nbRSZgW4gd QlC6OVHWFDod2mbf FIhJCgUJIOvHPBXv juuP99AhS6xDipkf YAKTWBc87ZcKKLa% 2b7FsTfA% 3d>
PIC 25 Mar 2011 - A Palestinian young man from the Balata refugee camp
near the northern West Bank city of Nablus was wounded by the IOF on
Friday morning near a Jewish settlement in the Jordan Valley.

*Israel is guilty, bears responsibility for latest violence*
<http://www.palestin e-info.co. uk/En/default. aspx?xyz= U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MD I46m9rUxJEpMO% 2bi1s7gXRi62T% 2fK8zOJei186DCFt JCaUw9LA0vHadrkG %2f%2b85GyJW2aU5 W7cAaJ4Y9NV73mVF ZSHImbJYaqVTV5Ud yTjr6jAlv% 2bzx7JrvxvnflL34 o%3d>
PIC 25 Mar 2011 - Ever since its genocidal onslaught against the Gaza
Strip more than two years ago, Israel has had a free season on the
Palestinian people..

*Egyptian FM discusses trying Zionist war criminals with the ICC*
<http://www.palestin e-info.co. uk/En/default. aspx?xyz= U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MD I46m9rUxJEpMO% 2bi1s7999% 2bCQu4yO2kzeBlaj 2IeNBwXyoBLV0XFT fidy4mbfNBFnAxWT v2D1sor3RaYsVJPP FmXqnKtB90i8lwfm ILLQzSpIUxa% 2f0SroAoJyOBtTU% 3d>
PIC 25 Mar 2011 - The Egyptian FM has discussed with the Prosecutor of
the ICC, the possibility of the ICC investigating the crimes committed
by the occupation against the Palestinians in the occupied territories.

*Arabi warns Israel over Gaza escalation*
<http://www.palestin e-info.co. uk/En/default. aspx?xyz= U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MD I46m9rUxJEpMO% 2bi1s7X%2b% 2ffmJbY7QTc2% 2fgcA1crmgDps0SO hVAHfcFOqQniK8SH BM2ND5DKmImD7IvC KEgQ%2bZqXv0DWZQ TNqdTp86AkkTTQlj wVXvIhw509aMz4TD A%3d>
PIC 25 Mar 2011 - Dr. Nabil Al-Arabi, The Egyptian foreign minister, has
warned Thursday the Israeli occupation authorities not to attempt to
repeat the adventure in Gaza Strip..

*Israeli court extends detention of Abu Sisi; orders media blackout on
the case*
<http://www.palestin e-info.co. uk/En/default. aspx?xyz= U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MD I46m9rUxJEpMO% 2bi1s75JtBeoQcw3 8wVNnGoWjpKVUL1x pdMDAi5tgGTt0w5G 4huuPfq9dGkuncLE WtfMvAr4ubWunT8j 9353mOi4fpWkjxUQ wgiUBsg7xRMW4geg M%3d>
PIC 25 Mar 2011 - An Israeli court handling the case of kidnapped
Palestinian engineer Dhurar Abu Sisi has extended the detention of the
engineer for eight more days..

*AbbasâEUR^(TM) s militias kidnap Islamic Jihad activists in the W. Bank*
<http://www.palestin e-info.co. uk/En/default. aspx?xyz= U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MD I46m9rUxJEpMO% 2bi1s7xdnuaGwszX 05RprKTuUYGSTLat bUEeF6yCHA5yfm% 2fkaxbYoW5Y9KP% 2fYCL9Wp5vPnM5Va V7grI6QAgVNTgh% 2btCImMpsbSNXHzz 8G%2fBIXSWzY% 3d>
PIC 25 Mar 2011 - The armed militia of Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank
continued the frenzied arrest campaign against the Palestinian
resistance activists in the West bank as they kidnapped six Islamic
Jihad activists..

*Occupation hands home demolition notices in Salfit villages*
<http://www.palestin e-info.co. uk/En/default. aspx?xyz= U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MD I46m9rUxJEpMO% 2bi1s7qV8NQeV3% 2fYCFu%2f% 2boQ%2bqVeGt8RY7 fJQpPfkfjTyIYCB8 hYdEZFspgwO3RvtR LDycoMjZl4gDdSbl YbBPpGLtyBo% 2fmpy%2bDnZwkpu1 S2Po%2fRyE% 3d>
PIC 25 Mar 2011 - IOF troops raided the village of Broqin in the
northern West Bank district of Salfit and handed demolition notices to
the owners of two homes in the village..

*Hamas condemns new Israeli racist laws*
<http://www.palestin e-info.co. uk/En/default. aspx?xyz= U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MD I46m9rUxJEpMO% 2bi1s7mFSmAlIJvl o9wYLEZszQRHLOgo CWNgHuhYxMVOm5pa 1ko%2bcXN3xmNrcM iAva484k2H3c6Jcn cF1fquOgAKAuLKw6 yEk7Gpfnfyzk% 2fQHqiGg% 3d>
PIC 25 Mar 2011 - Hamas has condemned the passing by the Knesset of the
Nakba law, which bans Palestinians in 1948-occupied Palestine from
commemorating the Nakba..

*PHILIP GIRALDI: NEOCON FOREIGN POLICY*
<http://feedproxy. google.com/ %7Er/intifada- palestine/ QuVY/%7E3/ UIOuJJv8vgI/>
Intifada-Palestine: 24 Mar 2011 - by : Philip Giraldi One of the
enduring mysteries is why neoconservative foreign policy continues to
dominate the Republican Party and also large parts of the Democratic
Party even though that policy has been disastrous for the United
States. No one --...more
<http://feedproxy. google.com/ %7Er/intifada- palestine/ QuVY/%7E3/ UIOuJJv8vgI/>

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

*Dozens reported killed in attacks on Syria protesters*
<http://feeds. latimes.com/ %7Er/latimes/ middleeast/ %7E3/zLawQQfxbAM /la-fg-syria- protests- 20110326, 0,3081514. story>
LA Times 25 Mar 2011 - Widespread protests against the government of
Syrian President Bashar Assad drew a severe response from security
forces, who fired on demonstrators, witnesses say. Deaths are reported
in Dara, Latakia, Hims and Sanamein. For four decades, the Assad family
has used secret police and informants to...

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

*Riot Police In Jordan Clear Camp Of Protesters*
<http://feeds. nytimes.com/ click.phdo? i=f91c71fbc5d7f6 02600068b38401f0 f3>
New York Times 25 Mar 2011 - Riot police stormed a pro-democracy rally
on Friday, leaving one man dead, injuring scores of other people and
dispersing a 1,000-person tent camp with water cannons.

*Hosni Mubarak's Shadow Still Falls on Much of Egypt*
<http://feeds. nytimes.com/ click.phdo? i=2f97f8b74bd0fd 51127cbaa1aba289 e5>
New York Times 25 Mar 2011 - Calls for the removal of ousted President
Hosni Mubarak's name and likeness from many public institutions have
shed light on the cult of personality he created during his tenure.

*Islamist Group Is Rising Force in a New Egypt*
<http://feeds. nytimes.com/ click.phdo? i=9ff227946ec6fe 41915394e96daf51 9e>
New York Times 25 Mar 2011 - The Muslim Brotherhood, once banned, is now
a tacit partner with the military government that many fear will thwart
changes.

(continues in following post)

[ninathedog]

(continues from above post)

[OccupationNews] Digest Number 1332
Fri Mar 25, 2011 8:39 pm (PDT)

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

*Egyptian workers face US-backed counter-revolution*
<http://www.wsws. org/articles/ 2011/mar2011/ pers-m25. shtml>
WSWS - The promulgation this week in Egypt of a decree banning strikes
and protests has laid bare the real character of the military-controlled
regime that succeeded the US-backed dictator Hosni Mubarak.

*Air strikes escalate, stalemate deepens in fighting around Libyan
cities* <http://www.wsws. org/articles/ 2011/mar2011/ liby-m25. shtml>
WSWS - Air strikes by French, British and American warplanes continued
to expand in Libya Thursday, but despite the massive firepower deployed
by the imperialist powers against the forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi,
anti-Gaddafi rebels remained stalemated in the ground warfare.

*China and Russia criticise Libyan bombing campaign*
<http://www.wsws. org/articles/ 2011/mar2011/ chru-m25. shtml>
WSWS - Moscow and Beijing are concerned that Washington is once again
using its military might to advance its strategic ambitions at their
expense.

*UPDATED: From Gaza to Jerusalem: JVP Statement on the Escalation of
Violence*
<http://jewishvoicef orpeace.org/ blog/updated- from-gaza- to-jerusalem- jvp-statement- on-the-escalatio n-of-violence>
Jewish Voice for Peace -

*Obama phones Netanyahu to thank him for 'restraint,' while Gates links
Palestinians to Arab revolutions*
<http://mondoweiss. net/2011/ 03/obama- phones-netanyahu -to-thank- him-for-restrain t-while-gates- links-palestinia ns-to-arab- revolutions. html>
Mondoweiss - and other news from Today in Palestine: Land, property,
resources theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Settlers Jordan
Valley Settlers squat on Church-owned land, demand farmers leave 24
March 2011 15:44 Israeli settlers have set up a tent next to a
Palestinian family's camp in the...

*My experience with the 'Palestinian Gandhis' of An Nabi Saleh*
<http://mondoweiss. net/2011/ 03/my-experience -with-the- palestinian- ghandis-of- an-nabi-saleh. html>
Mondoweiss - In December 2009, the village of An Nabi Saleh -- a small
village of just 500 people northwest of Ramallah - began weekly
non-violent demonstrations in opposition to the illegal Israeli colony
of Halamish annexing and stealing of more of the village's land. Since
An Nabi...

*Univ. of Arizona student coalition builds massive mock wall to bring
attention to the occupied territories and the US/Mexico border*
<http://mondoweiss. net/2011/ 03/univ-of- arizona-student- coalition- builds-massive- mock-wall- to-bring- attention- to-the-occupied- territories- and-the-usmexico -border.html>
Mondoweiss - For more photos visit nomoredeaths. org . From a AZ Jewish
Voice for Peace press release: Students from the Arizona chapter of
Jewish Voice for Peace at the University of Arizona (UA) collaborated
with partners in the UA migrant rights group No Más Muertes/No More
Deaths (NMM) to...

*The muzzling of Israel critics in European universities*
<http://mondoweiss. net/2011/ 03/the-muzzling- of-israel- critics-in- european- universities. html>
Mondoweiss - If imitation is the best form of flattery, then the
activists behind Israeli Apartheid Week have been paid an immense
tribute. As students belonging to Palestine support groups across
Britain held events to mark the annual March event, they learned of a
rival initiative. A network...

*Israel's racist response to Itamar murders would be unthinkable in the
U.S.*
<http://mondoweiss. net/2011/ 03/israels- racist-response- to-itamar- murders-would- be-unthinkable- in-the-u- s.html>
Mondoweiss - Most of us generally think of the U.S. as a country that
has made significant strides in combating racism, even if it still has a
long way to go. Israelis and their supporters sometimes try to downplay
Israeli racism by comparing it to the unfortunate phenomenon.. .

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

*Israeli forces arrest activists in Nabi Saleh*
<http://palestinianp risoners. blogspot. com/2011/ 03/israeli- forces-arrest- activists- in-nabi.html>
Sabr 25 Mar 2011 - 25 March 2011 | International Solidarity Movement
Yesterday afternoon nine people were arrested at a demonstration in the
Palestinian village of Nabi Saleh. Among the arrested were two ISM
activists along with one Danish, one Palestinian and five Israeli
protesters. Both ISM activists report being beaten by...

*Palestinian detainee suffers stroke*
<http://palestinianp risoners. blogspot. com/2011/ 03/palestinian- detainee- suffers-stroke. html>
Sabr 25 Mar 2011 - GAZA CITY ( Ma'an ) -- A Palestinian man detained in
an Israeli prison for over 30 years had a stroke on Friday, Detainees'
Affairs Minister Issa Qaraqe said. Qaraqe said Israel's prison
administration was responsible for Akram Mansour's life. The 51-year-old
from Qalqiliya was detained by Israeli...

*Lawyer: Detainee in urgent need of surgery*
<http://palestinianp risoners. blogspot. com/2011/ 03/lawyer- detainee- in-urgent- need-of.html>
Sabr 25 Mar 2011 - BETHLEHEM ( Ma'an ) -- Palestinian detainee Ma'zouz
Bsharat, held in Israel's Shatta prison, is in urgent need of surgery,
his lawyer said Tuesday. Bsharat has already undergone one surgery, but
reacted badly to medication he was given which caused him to vomit
constantly, the lawyer said. Israeli...

*Father: Israeli authorities sentenced my teens*
<http://palestinianp risoners. blogspot. com/2011/ 03/father- israeli-authorit ies-sentenced- my.html>
Sabr 25 Mar 2011 - RAMALLAH ( Ma'an ) -- Palestinian detainees' center
in Ramallah reported that Ofer court sentenced Amir Al-Bastami, 14, and
ordered him to pay 2,000 shekels and Mahdi Al-Bastami, 13, ordered to
pay 4,000 shekels. Their father said that his children are innocent and
that it is a crime...

*Gisha response to closing of Karni Crossing: Gaza's Crossings Squeezed
Shut*
<http://www.gisha. org/index. php?intLanguage= 2&intItemId= 1975&intSiteSN= 113>
Gisha 25 Mar 2011 - , [2011-03-03]

*Huge rival rallies in tense Yemen*
<http://www.bbc. co.uk/go/ rss/int/news/ -/news/world- middle-east- 12857700>
BBC 25 Mar 2011 - Tens of thousands of people gather in Yemen's capital
Sanaa for rival rallies, a week after some 50 people were shot dead at a
protest.

*Target Israel, not Libya*
<http://feedproxy. google.com/ %7Er/SabbahsBlog /%7E3/oggktN- AY50/>
Sabbah report 25 Mar 2011 - Instead of sanctioning Israel, demanding
Gaza's siege end, and imposing no-fly zone protection against regular
air and ground attacks, Washington is Israel's paymaster/partner,
providing generous funding and arms, supporting its killing machine
lawlessly.

*Disappeared on a Ukraine train: Mossad snatches Gaza's power plant
boss* <http://feedproxy. google.com/ %7Er/SabbahsBlog /%7E3/0OCdbGWXMO Y/>
Sabbah report 25 Mar 2011 - Jonathan Cook reports on the kidnapping of
Dirar Abu Sisi, operations manager of Gaza's only power plant, by
Israeli Mossad agents in Ukraine amid deep suspicions of official
Ukrainian complicity.

*Articles*

------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -
*On the humanity of the grieving*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=372079>
Emily L. Hauser, Ma'an News Agency 3/25/2011
/What I don't know --- what I honestly find myself struggling to
understand today --- is how Israelis cannot seem to translate their
experience to that of the Palestinian people./
On Wednesday a bomb went off in Jerusalem at a busy bus stop,
killing a British tourist and injuring 30 others.
I haven't lived in Israel for a while, since the summer of 1998. I
go back a lot, and nearly every time I'm there, something awful happens,
but all of my living-breathing knowledge of living with terrorism is
well over a decade old.
And yet.
I can still feel the pounding in my veins, still see the odd
narrowing of my vision, as the news comes through --- over the kitchen
radio, from a taxi driver, from a sudden, crackling awareness among the
people in the grocery store: Haya pigua -- There was an attack.
Suddenly, you don't know where you are, what you were meant to do.
Where did it happen? Without meaning to, you calculate the last time you
were in that same place, on that same bus. Where is everyone? Is there
any reason to think someone you love may have been there when it
happened? Phone calls are made, assurances gathered and given. In some
cases, I remember, the attacks were so ferocious, involving so much
death, that Israel's phone system crashed, and no one could get through
to anyone.
I was a reporter for much of the worst of the ?90s waves of
terror, so I would invariably have to shake myself loose of all that,
call my bosses, grab a notebook, and either hit the streets or start
translating the news.more..
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=372079>e-mail
<mailto:?subject= On%20the% 20humanity% 20of%20the% 20grieving% 20&body=On% 20the%20humanity %20of%20the% 20grieving% 20--%20http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=372079% 20--%20link% 20courtesy% 20www.vtjp. org>

*Hopes high, hopes dashed in Palestine*
<http://english. aljazeera. net/indepth/ opinion/2011/ 03/2011322112757 690545.html>
Linah Alsaafin, Al Jazeera 3/25/2011
/Protests on March 15 in Gaza and the West Bank turned out to be much
ado about nothing./
I had dared to dream, to hope that March 15th could captivate the
world's attention the way Tahrir Square had a few weeks ago.
I was aware that such dreams could be naive, but I wanted to
believe that March 15th could kick-start a double-edged revolution in
Palestine, ending the division between Hamas and Fatah, and building a
broad, grassroots platform to struggle against the Israeli occupation of
all Palestinian territories.
The protests of March 15th were chiefly organised on Facebook,
with many pages calling for an end to the division and to congregate on
the designated day.
One page, "The Third Intifada", had attracted 170,000 members at
the time of March 15th. Another West Bank based page, "Let Us End the
Occupation", had around 15,000 active members.
It was a forum for open discussion and reiterated calls for
national unity. It looked like March 15th would result in a huge
domestic turnout in Ramallah, Bethlehem, Nablus, and Gaza City.
Palestinians in the Diaspora were also encouraged to come out to
protest in support on the same day.
What was noteworthy about this movement was that it was almost
exclusively a youth-led initiative. Evidently, a more outspoken and
savvy Palestinian youth were growing increasingly frustrated by life
under the regimes of the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.more..
<http://english. aljazeera. net/indepth/ opinion/2011/ 03/2011322112757 690545.html>e-mail
<mailto:?subject= Hopes%20high, %20hopes% 20dashed% 20in%20Palestine %20&body= Hopes%20high, %20hopes% 20dashed% 20in%20Palestine %20--%20http://english. aljazeera. net/indepth/ opinion/2011/ 03/2011322112757 690545.html% 20--%20link% 20courtesy% 20www.vtjp. org>

*Who are you calling feminist?*
<http://www.israeli- occupation. org/2011- 03-25/haneen- zoabi-who- are-you-calling- feminist/>
Haneen Zoabi, The Jerusalem Post, Israeli Occupation Archive 3/25/2011
/IOA Editor: Although originally written for International Women's Day
2011, this commentary is directly related to the anti-Palestinian laws
under consideration by the Israeli parliament, including the Nakba Law
and the law enabling "admission committees" approval-requiremen t for
would-be residents of towns of fewer than 400 families -- both just
passed by Israel's parliament.
The following is a selection of Israeli readers reactions to this
article and its author, taken from The Jerusalem Post, which chose to
allow them: "Anti-semitism" ... "you should be in jail already!" ...
"Zoabi is a traitor, should be in jail!" ... "Get Out of My Country" ...
"Disgusted that you are an MK." Clearly, a reflection of Israeli
civility, open-mindedness and a deeply rooted belief in democracy./In
1977, the UN General Assembly voted to adopt a resolution proclaiming a
United Nations Day for Women's Rights and International Peace.
Even back then, the UN recognized, rightfully, the link between
the morals of peace and the rights of women, and the connection between
the struggle for womens' rights and the struggle for freedom and
justice. If we were to adopt the UN decision to the reality here, we
would reach the same conclusion.
Feminism is not a women's movement, it is a movement of morals.
From a moral, political, and practical standpoint we cannot allow
ourselves to identify with women's rights while other women are being
oppressed elsewhere. We can't call ourselves feminists if we occupy
other women, demolish their homes, force them to live under a blockade,
support settlement expansion, and then come home and talk about women's
rights. -- See also:Source
<http://www.jpost. com/Opinion/ Op-EdContributor s/Article. aspx?id=211192>more..
<http://www.israeli- occupation. org/2011- 03-25/haneen- zoabi-who- are-you-calling- feminist/>e-mail
<mailto:?subject= Who%20are% 20you%20calling% 20feminist? %20&body= Who%20are% 20you%20calling% 20feminist? %20--%20http://www.israeli- occupation. org/2011- 03-25/haneen- zoabi-who- are-you-calling- feminist/ %20--%20link% 20courtesy% 20www.vtjp. org>

*Interview: Sharif Kanaana on Palestinian folklore and identity*
<http://feedproxy. google.com/ %7Er/electronicI ntifada/% 7E3/anV3- j9w_JU/article11 869.shtml>
Electronic Intifada: 26 Mar 2011 - Robin Myers and Shadi Rohana speak
with professor Sharif Kanaana in his office about Palestinian identity
and the local and global significance of folklore itself.more
<http://feedproxy. google.com/ %7Er/electronicI ntifada/% 7E3/anV3- j9w_JU/article11 869.shtml>

*Suspended in time, Lifta under threat*
<http://feedproxy. google.com/ %7Er/electronicI ntifada/% 7E3/WekeDZJyMRY/ article11879. shtml>
Electronic Intifada: 25 Mar 2011 - A coalition including Palestinian
refugees from Lifta are appealing to the Jerusalem municipality to stop
plans to build Jewish-only condominiums atop the remains of the
depopulated village.more
<http://feedproxy. google.com/ %7Er/electronicI ntifada/% 7E3/WekeDZJyMRY/ article11879. shtml>

*Resist a Larger War in Libya*
<http://dissidentvoi ce.org/2011/ 03/resist- a-larger- war-in-libya/>
Dissident Voice: 25 Mar 2011 - It was hard for some peace activists to
look at the planned attack by Col. Gaddafi on Libyan rebels and oppose
the no fly zone approved by the U.N. Col. Gaddafi is a vicious leader
who promised to make the streets run red with blood so this was an issue
that divided the peace community. Regardless of how you felt about the
original no fly zone, how you feel about the Gaddafi regime or the armed
rebels fighting it, we should all recognize that the United States,
United Kingdom and France are going further than a no fly zone and are
intervening in a civil war for their own reasons that have nothing to do
with defending democracy or other humanitarian goals. Already we are
seeing evidence of the broader mission beyond a no fly zone and beyond
what President Obama said would be a few days with no troops on...more
<http://dissidentvoi ce.org/2011/ 03/resist- a-larger- war-in-libya/>

*"Hands off the Tunisian Revolution" --- International Delegation of
Lawyers and Academics*
<http://dissidentvoi ce.org/2011/ 03/hands- off-the-tunisian -revolution- international- delegation- of-lawyers- and-academics/>
Dissident Voice: 25 Mar 2011 - A group of lawyers and academics from the
US, UK and Turkey have been investigating US and European complicity in
human rights abuses committed by the Ben Ali regime and will be making
strong recommendations to their respective governments to allow the
Tunisian revolution to develop into a genuine democracy. The delegation
was invited by the National Bar Association of Tunisia and comprised of
members of the National Lawyers Guild (US), the Haldane Society of
Socialist Lawyers (UK) and Mazlumder -- The Association of Human Rights
and Solidarity for Oppressed People (Turkey), and included a Tunisian
lawyer now practicing in London and a Lecturer from the School of
Oriental and African Studies of the University of London. They met NGOs,
labour leaders, members of political parties, journalists and bloggers,
and also interviewed many former political prisoners and torture victims
of the deposed Ben Ali regime. According to Azadeh Shahshahani,
Executive... more
<http://dissidentvoi ce.org/2011/ 03/hands- off-the-tunisian -revolution- international- delegation- of-lawyers- and-academics/>

More material available from Vermonters for a Just Peace in
Palestine/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]

Gaza children gather to support Japan

Published yesterday (updated) 26/03/2011 14:24
Ma'an News Agency

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) – Children gathered in Gaza City on Thursday in solidarity with the victims of Japan's devastating earthquake.



Over 100 children held banners and slogans outside the Al-Nower education center to show their support for Japan, where more than 25,000 people are dead or missing.

Nour Breikh, 11, explained, "We are standing here to send a message of love to all the kids in Japan and to tell them that we are sad because of what happened to them."

Meanwhile, 12-year-old Haya Al-Kasas recalled Japan's support for residents of the Gaza Strip during Israel's devastating offensive in December 2008, when hundreds of Gazan children were killed by Israeli forces.

"Japanese kids were so kind to us when we were attacked during the Israeli war. They supported us and now it is our time to support them and pray for God to help them," she said.

Amal Khudeir, head of the center, said pupils had also sent emails offering their sympathies and condolences to Japanese children.

www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=372209


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



Gaza Children Stand In Solidarity With
Japanese Children

Friday March 25, 2011 11:42
by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies Report post
International Middle East Media Center

Dozens of Palestinian children in the besieged and impoverished Gaza Strip sent letters to Japanese children to express solidarity with them after the massive earthquake that hit Japan and the Tsunami that followed, the Palestine News Network (PNN), reported.


Gaza Children Show Support To Japanese Children — PNN

More than 100 children of the Nuwwar Educational Center gathered on Thursday at the yard of the center carrying Japanese flags, drawings and leaflets that express solidarity with the children of Japan.

Nour Barbakh, 11, said that she and the other children gathered to send a message of love to the children of Japan, and expressing wishes for their safety and prosperity.

Haya Al Qassas, 12, stated that Japan showed a great deal of solidarity with the Palestinian people, and that today, the children of Gaza are sad for what happened in Japan, and wanted to express solidarity and support to the children of Japan.

Amaal Khdeir, head of the Nuwwar Center, said that this act of solidarity is a message of love from the children of Gaza who lived through several wars and suffer constant Israeli military violations and wars.

“Despite the harsh conditions, and the suffering, the children of Gaza wanted to show solidarity with Japan”, Khdeir stated, “they challenged the suffering, they showed their patience and determination, and came out to send this message to the children of Japan”.

The campaign also included sending emails to children in Japan informing them that the children of Gaza suffer when the children of Japan suffer, and that “despite suffering constant Israeli violations, bombardment and attacks, despite the siege and internal divisions, the children of Gaza wanted to send their message of solidarity”.

www.imemc.org/article/60934

[emeraldsun]

Brazil Child Sex Tourism Resource with Timeline

Editor’s Note and Disturbing Content Warning: These materials are presented as a public service to educate you about the growing crime of “child sex tourism.”
The U.S. Department of Justice writes:

“Child sex tourism makes its profits from the exploitation of child prostitutes in developing countries. Many children are trafficked into the sex trade…Child prostitutes live in constant fear; they live in fear of sadistic acts by clients, fear of being beaten by pimps who control the sex trade, and fear of being apprehended by the police. It comes as no surprise that victims often suffer from depression, low self-esteem, and feelings of hopelessness. Many victims of child sexual exploitation also suffer from physical ailments, including tuberculosis, exhaustion, infections, and physical injuries resulting from violence inflicted upon them. Venereal diseases run rampant among these children and they rarely receive medical treatment until they are seriously or terminally ill. Living conditions are poor and meals are inadequate and irregular. Many children that fail to earn enough money are punished severely, often through beatings and starvation. Sadly, drug use and suicide are all too common for victims of child sexual exploitation.”

Combine this with secret societies hiding behind burned and crippled children and we have the worst nonprofit fraud of our time; prostitution at taxpayer expense.

Be warned that learning about this might adversely affect you. Five Indian girls told the Brazilian Federal Police how they, as minors, were lured into prostitution for North American tourists, like that group of “Masons” who were fishing in Brazil for Peacock Bass and girls over 13. One girl testified that she lost her virginity and was left pregnant after such a trip. Then, as a 13 year old unwed mother, she and her baby were ostracized from her village.

Those who prey on such poverty must first be Master Masons before joining groups like the Scottish Rite, the Knights Templar and the Shriners. They’re best known for their red fezzes and operating 22 hospitals that now take insurance for previously free medical care for burned and crippled children. A Shriner must be secretly invited to join the Royal Order of Jesters, currently under investigation for sex trafficking, prostitution and child sex tourism.

Three years after reading the girls' depositions, I’m still writing for them, giving them a voice, for which Newsvine.com was unsuccessfully sued. Then, a mainstream media outlet used my work as a resource without citation. Please feel free to use these materials as a resource as long as you provide attribution.

So, what’s up with this underground network of Jesters who use their influence to protect each other? Like I’ve written before, who really cares if these guys want to get snot slinging drunk, gamble their asses off or mess around with prostitutes?

That’s just a weekend in Vegas.

The problem is that the Jesters are tax exempt. Individual Jesters can claim their fraternal and charitable contributions/donations on their tax returns. Their donations go towards their group’s party fund. Then the group deducts the costs of partying AKA spreading the gospel of mirth and merriment. This means that we subsidize the taxes that they don’t pay.

Someone at the IRS somehow granted the Jesters dual tax exempt status for both their 501c10 fraternity and 501c3 charity. Tax returns show that the Jesters' fraternal exempt purpose is spreading the gospel of mirth and merriment. The charitable exempt purpose is a Jester museum that allows their new headquarters building to be a write off. Except the Marion County tax assessor didn’t buy it.

That’s how this all started. “Jesters Exposed” describes how the national office appealed a property tax exemption denial and convinced the tax assessor board that they deserved the property tax exemption because the ROJ is an appendant body of Masonry. Obfuscating charitable apples and fraternal oranges, the Jesters got the exemption.

There are about 23,500 Jesters organized into fraternal "courts" that correspond to the 191 Shriner temples located across North America. These courts write off millions in party expenses year after year while we make up for the taxes they don’t pay, like the property taxes.

Again, partying with prostitutes at tax payer expense.

Thank you for being here,

Sandy Frost

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Starbucks, WA

This resource provides links to nine articles that document four different cases involving Atlanta real estate salesman and former fishing tour operator, Richard W. Schair. The articles detail three legal challenges that totally blew up in his face.

1) Schair sued a business rival after alleging that he provided prostitutes for his fishing customers. As evidence mounted against him, Schair then paid his rival $15,000 to settle out of court.

2) Schair’s failed request for habeas corpus made public his indictment by the Brazilian Federal Police for rape, using minors for prostitution and violating indigenous rights.

3) Schair sued for Newsvine.com after I reported his indictment. He immediately withdrew his complaint after Newsvine attorneys moved the case from district court to federal court.

Schair came to my attention after I published “Jesters Exposed,” the first ever article about the Shriners’ secret sub-group, the Royal Order of Jesters, currently under investigation for sex trafficking, prostitution and child sex tourism. Schair had sued a competitor who alleged that he provided prostitutes for his customers. A witness list for the defense named 19 Jesters who were expected to testify about their first hand knowledge of minor prostitution, prostitution and drug use while on one of Schair’s fishing trips.

As the evidence mounted against him, Schair settled out of court by paying the defendant $15,000.

After I reported that the Brazilian Federal Police had indicted him, Schair sued Newsvine.com for libel. Attorneys for Newsvine.com moved the case from Hall County District Court in Georgia to U.S. District Court in Gainesville, prompting Schair to withdraw his complaint.

This list of articles includes links to pertinent documents.

A timeline follows.

Jesters to Testify About Illegal Drugs, Child Prostitution?

Thu Mar 6, 2008 10:35 AM PST
A slander complaint between two former fishing tour operators included a witness list for the defense that named 19 members of the Royal Order of Jesters who were expected to testify about “their first hand knowledge of prostitution, minor prostitution, use of illegal drugs and/or entry into Indian reservations by Schair (plaintiff) and/or his customers.”

Brazilian Fishing Trip Depositions: "Masons" Pictured Having Sex with Teen Prostitutes?

Sun May 25, 2008 3:55 PM PDT

Two fishing guides, previously employed by Richard W. Schair, were deposed by the Brazilian Federal Police as they investigated the sexual exploitation of minor girls by North American tourists. These guides, both brothers, were advised by Brazilian authorities to testify in the United States. These depositions were recorded over three days in Miami as the fishing guides, among other things, identified pictures of “Masons” having sex with teen prostitutes.

Deposition of Adilson Garcia Da Silva, Sunday April 13, 2008, 11am – 6:25pm

Deposition of Adilson Garcia Da Silva, Sunday April 15, 2008, 10:10am – 12 noon

Deposition of Adilson Garcia Da Silva, Monday April 14, 2008, 11:45am – 6:30pm

Deposition of Admilson Garcia Da Silva, Tuesday April 15, 2008, 12:20pm – 7:30pm

Child Sex Tourism: Brazilian Teens Testify About Being Lured into Minor Prostitution for American Tourists

Mon Jun 2, 2008 2:58 PM PDT

Five girls provided depositions to the Brazilian Federal Police on June 13, 2007 and described how “Richard” illegally lured them off their reservation to clean and cook on his fishing boat. They told the police that upon arrival, they were expected to get drunk and perform “programs” that consisted of oral sex, strip and dance contests on the boat with North American fishermen. The girls allege that they were told they’d be paid one rate, but were paid much less of what had been promised. One testified that she was left pregnant after one such fishing trip, at the age of 13.

Brazilian Judge Rejects Jester Fishing Tour Operator's Request for Habeas Corpus

Mon Jun 29, 2009 5:15 PM PDT

On June 23, 2009, Brazilian federal judge, MARIA LUCIA GOMES DE SOUZA, denied a June 19, 2009 habeas corpus request filed on behalf of Richard Wayne Schair. If granted, it would have protected Schair from unlawful detention upon entering Brazil after being charged with rape, corruption of minors and operating a house of prostitution.

Brazilian Federal Police, Amazon division, inquest #410/2007 led to filing legal proceedings against Schair on August 8, 2007 after they had been investigating "that since the year 2000, minor Indian and other girls living near the rivers in the region of the Municipality of Autazes/AM became victims of sexual exploitation by North American tourists."

Federal Court, Amazon District cover sheet can be read here.

Customer list submitted as evidence in Schair’s request for habeas corpus can be read here.

Page 1 of Brazilian Federal Police Report submitted to Judge can be read here.

Page 2 of Brazilian Federal Police Report submitted to Judge can be read here.

Editorial: Schair v Newsvine Illustrates Importance of Reporter Shield and Child Protection Bills Before Congress

Tue Jul 14, 2009 5:12 PM PDT

This article explains the necessity of reporter shield and child protection bills before Congress in lieu of the Richard W. Schair v Newsvine Inc. complaint filed in Superior Court, Hall County, Georgia.

Richard W. Schair v Newsvine Dismissed as Brazilian Judge Accepts Rape & Underage Prostitution Case Against Him

Wed Aug 5, 2009 11:04 PM PDT

Richard Schair's motion to dismiss was granted after Newsvine.com moved his
libel and defamation complaint to federal court. Additionally, the federal judge overseeing Brazil’s own case against him accepted it from the federal prosecutor's office.

Schair v Newsvine Motion of Removal of Action can be read here.

Schair v Newsvine federal court cover sheet can be read here.

Newsitorial: Schair's Failed Application for Habeas Corpus Confirms Indictment, Implicates Jesters

Wed Sep 9, 2009 9:04 AM PDT

A failed application for habeas corpus made public the indictment of former fishing tour operator Richard W. Schair after the Brazilian Federal Police investigated his role in the alleged sexual exploitation of minor Indian girls living along the Amazon.

ABC News Confirms FBI Investigating Jesters for Child Sex Tourism

Mon Apr 5, 2010 11:06 PM PDT

“ABC World News Tonight with Diane Sawyer” has confirmed that the FBI and ICE are continuing their investigation into fishing tour operators who facilitate “child sex tourism." This report includes a blurred picture of a Jester partying with a young Brazilian girl on his lap.

Brazilian News Confirms FBI Investigating Child Sex Crimes, Jesters Pictured w/Victims

Fri Oct 8, 2010 12:11 PM PDT

This Brazilian Rede Record news broadcast aired on October 6 and is described as “Companies That Sell packages of Tourism in the Amazon Promote Orgies.”

"Fashion in Europe, Japan and the USA is the ecological tourism. Who is buying the packages do not want the traditional uses, either adventure. One of the destinations is the Brazilian Amazon. Girls are employed to work on vessels of luxury and are sexually exploited by foreign tourists."

The broadcast offers a closed caption English translation, video of the Amazon Santana and interviews with some of the girls, their attorney and a Brazilian Federal Police officer. He says that the investigation “has already been sent to the ‘Ministerio Publico Federal’ or ‘Federal Attorney,’ there were indicted the owner of the agency in Brazil and the man who sold the trips in the U.S., the American Richard Wayne Schair, who is accused of raping the girl ‘J.’”

The broadcast continues:

“The FBI agents who also investigate the case were in Autazes in the house of this young lady of Indian origin. They found the same poverty level that we are witnessing, a fridge practically empty, they heard dramatic testimony. She states that at 17 she accepted an offer to work on the yacht Amazon Santana. She was convinced by 2 foreigners to have sexual relations. On the trip lost her virginity, and believes that became pregnant of one of them.”

Timeline:

May 11, 2007 – Richard Wayne Schair, owner of Wet-a-Line Tours, sues Philip Marsteller, owner of Amazon Tours, for defamation and libel after alleging his involvement with drugs and prostitution.

July 11, 2007 - Five Indian girls provide depositions to the Brazilian Federal Police, alleging that "Richard" illegally lured them off their reservation to work as underage prostitutes for his North American fishing clients.

August 8, 2007 - Brazilian Federal Police, Amazon division inquest #410/2007 leads to filing legal proceedings against Schair, charging him with rape, corruption of minors and operating a prostitution network.

February 15, 2008 - "Jesters Exposed" published and is the first article ever written about the Shriners secret sub-group, the Royal Order of Jesters

March 6, 2008 - "Jesters' To Testify about Illegal Drugs, Child Prostitution?" reports that 19 Jesters named on a witness list for the defense were expected to testify about "their first hand knowledge of prostitution, minor prostitution, use of illegal drugs and/or entry into Indian reservations by Schair (plaintiff) and/or his customers" in the case Schair v Marsteller.

May 25, 2008 - "Brazilian Fishing Trip Depositions: 'Masons' Pictured Having Sex with Teen Prostitutes?" covers depositions provided by Brazilian fishing tour guides who state that the Jesters asked to be called "Masons" and for girls over 13.

June 2, 2008 - "Child Sex Tourism: Brazilian Teens Testify About Being Lured into Minor Prostitution for American Tourists" describes what five "Jane Does" told the Brazilian Federal Police about how “Richard” asked them to cook and clean on his fishing boat but instead were made drunk to then have sex with North American tourists. One testified that she was left pregnant at age 13.

September 15, 2008 - Philip Marsteller was honored at a ceremony held at the Church Center of the UN. He, on behalf of his Peacock Bass fishing business Amazon Tours, Inc., took a public stand against child sex tourism by signing "The Code" AKA Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism. The event was sponsored by ECPAT, which stands for "End Child Prostitution Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes." The signing ceremony honored Marsteller and Amazon Tours for becoming only the sixth American business to take such a public stand against child sex tourism.

December 9, 2008 - Schair pays Marsteller to settle out of court as mounting evidence supports his allegations.

June 19, 2009 - Schair submits an application for habeas corpus to prevent being arrested upon entering Brazil, asking the Brazilian Federal Police to dismiss the indictment against him.

June 23, 2009 - Brazilian federal judge Maria Lucia Gomes De Souza denies Schair’s application.

June 26, 2009 - Schair files libel/defamation complaint against Newsvine.com in Hall County Superior Court, Georgia.

June 29, 2009 - "Brazilian Judge Rejects Jester Fishing Tour Operator's Request for Habeas Corpus" published.

July 14, 2009 - "Editorial: Schair v Newsvine Illustrates Importance of Reporter Shield and Child Protection Bills Before Congress" includes "The big picture here is that Richard Schair is attempting to intimidate other media from covering the breaking news out of Brazil that his request for habeas corpus was denied. Now he could and probably would be arrested upon entering Brazil for the charges of rape, corruption of minors and operating a prostitution network."

July 24, 2009 – Attorneys for Newsvine.com file to transfer Schair's defamation complaint from district court to federal court.

July 27, 2009 - Brazilian judge issues final denial of Schair's application for habeas corpus because it lacks merit.

July 28, 2009 - Schair's attorney files motion in federal court to dismiss complaint against Newsvine.com.

July 29, 2009 - Schair v Newsvine complaint dismissed in federal court.

August 3, 2009 - Brazilian judge approves the case against Richard Wayne Schair as submitted by prosecutors on behalf of the Brazilian Federal Police, paving the way for prosecution.

Aug 5, 2009 - Richard W. Schair v Newsvine Dismissed as Brazilian Judge Accepts Rape & Underage Prostitution Case Against Him reports that Schair's motion to dismiss was granted after Newsvine.com moved his defamation complaint to federal court.

Sep 9, 2009 - Newsitorial: Schair's Failed Application for Habeas Corpus Confirms Indictment, Implicates Jesters explains how Schair’s indictment became public through his failed application for habeas corpus.

Apr 5, 2010 ABC News Confirms FBI Investigating Jesters for Child Sex Tourism features Diane Sawyer confirming that the FBI and ICE are continuing their investigation into “child sex tourism.” The broadcast pictures a Jester partying with a Brazilian girl on his lap.

Oct 8, 2010 - Brazilian News Confirms FBI Investigating Child Sex Crimes, Jesters Pictured w/Victims is about the Rede Record broadcast reporting that FBI agents were in a jungle village to interview the girl who became pregnant, at age 13, after working as a prostitute for Schair’s customers.

All copies of material reprinted or duplicated from "by Sandy Frost" must include the following credit line: From sandyfrost.newsvine.com/ Copyright © 2011 by Sandy Frost. Used by permission.

[ninathedog]

Libyan woman says Gadhafi forces
beat, raped her

'They violated my honor,' woman tells foreign journalists at Tripoli hotel

msnbc.com news services
updated 47 minutes ago 2011-03-26T16:34:47

TRIPOLI — A weeping Libyan woman made a desperate plea for help on Saturday, slipping into a Tripoli hotel full of foreign journalists to show bruises and scars she said had been inflicted on her by Moammar Gadhafi's militiamen.

"Look at what Gadhafi's militias did to me," Eman al-Obaidi screamed with tears in her eyes, pulling up her coat to show blood on her upper leg in the restaurant of the hotel.



After being intimidated by security men and hotel staff, who also beat journalists trying to interview her, she was eventually bundled into a car and driven away.

Her face heavily bruised, she said she had been arrested at a checkpoint in Tripoli because she was from the city of Benghazi, bastion of the insurgency against Gadhafi's rule.

"They swore at me and they filmed me. I was alone. There was whiskey," she said, weeping and stretching out her arms to show scars.

"They defecated and urinated on me and tied me up," she said, "They violated my honor, look at what the Gadhafi militiamen did to me."

Obaidi, who appeared to be in her 30s and was wearing a loose black coat and slippers, said she had been raped by 15 men and held for two days.

Her story could not be independently verified. It was unclear whether she had escaped or had been released.

"Investigators phoned me and said she was drunk, that she could be suffering mentally," Libya's government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim told reporters, citing a preliminary report.

"We are checking who she is, who her father is, who her brothers and sisters are, whether she was really abused or whether it's fantasies."

Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim, speaking alongside Ibrahim, said he would look into the incident. "I am sure she will be treated according to the law," he said.

'Look at my face'

"I am not scared of anything. I will be locked up immediately after this," Obaidi shouted. "Look at my face. Look at my back. All of my body is bruised."

As she spoke, sobbing and shaking, hotel staff and plainclothes security men tried to push and intimidate her. She ran from one table to another in the hotel restaurant.

In the ensuing scuffle, one hotel staff member grabbed a table knife and yelled: "You traitor. How dare you say that?"

A man in civilian clothes took out a gun.

A foreign journalist who was trying to get away from the scene with a camera on which he had recorded footage of the scuffle was thrown to the ground and kicked.

One Western television crew had their camera broken.

Obaidi was eventually forced into a garden outside the hotel. Journalists trying to get to her were pushed away.

"Leave me alone," she shouted at security men, as one man tried to cover her mouth with his hand.

She was then dragged to a parking lot and bundled into a white car. Security men said they were taking her to hospital.

"They are taking me to jail," she yelled, struggling with the security guards. "They are taking me to jail."

Tripoli is Gadhafi's biggest stronghold, full of loyal militiamen who crack down on any form of dissent as Gadhafi's troops battle rebel forces in other parts of the country.

International human rights groups say Gadhafi loyalists have been enforcing their rule by arresting thousands of people. Libyan officials say they only arrest people linked to armed gangs or al-Qaida militants.

But as Western powers press on with air raids which they say are designed to protect civilians against Gadhafi's forces, people in the capital have become more outspoken in their criticism of the state.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

© 2011 msnbc.com

www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42281848/ns/world_news-mideastn_africa/





More video -- www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8408506/Fight-as-woman-dragged-from-press-by-Gaddafi-forces.html

Twitter feed --
twitter.com/nicrobertsoncnn

NicRobertsonCNN

1. Charles Clover Financial Times who tried to stop thugs was put in van & driven 2 border. Sd was told last nght hd 2 leave bec of his reports about 2 hours ago via web
2. Repeatdly challengd at presser later, Libyan Dep FM said they will be "investigating & find out how she is & that we will let you know.” about 2 hours ago via web
3. Journalists demnding to see her. David Kirkpatrick NYT & I went to offcls in charge who claimed dont know who took her or where she taken. about 2 hours ago via web
4. CNN camerman was there but camera smashed & footage taken so no pictures of our own. Here's link to some pool footage tiny.cc/u38ii about 2 hours ago via web
5. Sm journalists tried to protect her, challenging officials about where they taking her but they drove off with her in white car. about 3 hours ago via web
6. Clarify'g earlier tweet: bag/cloth thrown over her head, they took her into back garden, then bundled out hotel front door w/out bag/cloth about 3 hours ago via web
7. Govt officls claimd she was "mentally ill" & being taken to "a hospital." She managed to shout out they were taking her to jail. about 3 hours ago via web
8. CNN camera violently snatchd, systemtclly smashd to pieces & video footage stolen. Some journlsts beaten in blatant disply of regime thuggry about 3 hours ago via web
9. Waitress threatnd her w/knife, calling her "traitor." Govt offcls began beating journlsts trying to interview her. about 3 hours ago via web
10. CNN cameraman on scene said she showed journalsts bruises, scratches on thighs, bruised face, rope burns on wrists & ankles about 3 hours ago via web
11. Within mins of beginning to tell her story, govt officls and hotel staff moved in to shut her up. about 3 hours ago via web
12. Woman came into restaurant of journalists' hotel today claiming she’d been detained at govt chkpt, held 2 days, tied up, beaten and raped. about 3 hours ago via web



(many thanks to Tom V)

[ninathedog]

thanks, emeraldsun -- just seeing your post after I posted the above.
sick to my stomach.
love,
Jen.

[emeraldsun]

Mar 26, 2011 22:03:41 GMT 4 @ninathedog said:

thanks, emeraldsun -- just seeing your post after I posted the above.
sick to my stomach.
love,
Jen.

This so rampant and sickening Jen. Most are covered by so much money, power and influence they have become monsters!

Thank You for your continued postings. Just how many times can a human heart break?

emeraldsun

[poeteanglais]

Absolutely sickening. My thoughts are with the poor lady.

The problem is, I fear, this goes on every day on this planet, and not everyone is able to, or can, tell their story.

How low can humanity sink ... and all for what? Oil? Power? It just defies any concept of humanity.