Clipmarks | masbury's 'israel' clips

BBC: Israeli settlers terrorize Palestinians

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 01:50:41 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Prime Minister speaks of "an evil wind of extremism" threatening Israel's democracy - meaning Israeli settlers, not Palestinians. Illegal settlers attack both Palestinians in their homes and Israeli soldiers who defend the Palestinians.

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Hundreds of settlers are engaged in violence against Palestinians and Israeli soldiers, the senior Israeli commander in the West Bank has said.

About 500,000 Jewish settlers live in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, among a population of about 2.5 million Palestinians.

The general said that in some cases Israeli soldiers who had intervened to stop settlers from attacking Palestinians had themselves been attacked by settlers.

Israeli political leaders have made comments along similar lines recently.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has spoken of an "evil wind of extremism" threatening Israel's democracy.

This was in reaction to a pipe bomb attack on a leading Israeli academic and critic of the occupation of Palestinian land by presumed hard-line right-wingers.

Mr Olmert has also described a mass attack by settlers on the West Bank village of Asira al-Qabiliya as a "pogrom".

All settlements are consider illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.

Tags: israel, palestinians, terrorism

Olmert stuns world: Israel should pull out of West Bank

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 19:19:03 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: First time ever an Israeli leader advocates it.

Clip Source: www.motherjones.com

Olmert Says Israel Should Pull Out of West Bank

In a remarkable development and transformation from his former Likud days, outgoing Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert has given an interview to an Israeli newspaper in which he says Israel should pull out of the West Bank, and more broadly, rethink its strategic efense doctrine from one that is so heavily military-based.

In an unusually frank and soul-searching interview granted after he resigned to fight corruption charges — he remains interim prime minister until a new government is sworn in — Mr. Olmert discarded longstanding Israeli defense doctrine and called for radical new thinking in words that are sure to stir controversy as his expected successor, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, tries to build a coalition.

“What I am saying to you now has not been said by any Israeli leader before me,” Mr. Olmert told Yediot Aharonot newspaper

He said traditional Israeli defense strategists

seemed stuck in the

1948 Independence War

worthless.”

Tags: olmert, israel, palestinians

Russians: US, Israel to use Georgia for Iran attack

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 16:52:05 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Claim US and Israel exchanging massive military aid for right to use airfields for Iran bombing

Clip Source: www.payvand.com

US Plans to Use Georgia for Attacking Iran: Russia's NATO envoy

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Russia's envoy to NATO said that the US plans to use airfields in Georgia for a war on Iran.

Ambassador Dmitry Rogozin said Russian intelligence had obtained information indicating that Washington had launched "active military preparations on Georgia's territory" for an air strike on Iran.

"The reason why Washington values (Georgian President Mikheil) Saakashvili's regime so highly" is that he has given permission to the Pentagon to use its airfields, he said.

Other reports suggested that the Georgian airfields could also be used by Israel for an attack on Iran.

Israel had supplied Georgia with sophisticated Hermes 450 UAV spy drones, multiple rocket launchers and other military equipment that Georgia, as well as modernized Georgia's Soviet-made tanks that were used in the attack against South Ossetia.

Israeli instructors had also helped train Georgia troops.

Tags: iran, georgia, israel

Rice Criticizes Israeli Checkpoints and Restrictions

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 03:42:42 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Oh ho ho, what have we here? Will she be struck by neoconservative lightning?

Clip Source: www.democracynow.org

Rice Criticizes Israeli Checkpoints and Travel Restrictions

On her final Middle East tour as Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice used the occasion to criticize Israeli checkpoints and restrictions on travel for Palestinians in the Occupied Territories. When asked about them, she told reporters that “obviously there’s more that needs to be done.” At the start of her two-day tour, she praised the release of 198 Palestinian political prisoners on the eve of her visit. Rice is scheduled to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah today before flying back to Washington.

Tags: israel

Israel rushes West Bank construction

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 03:47:29 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: 1,000 new bldgs on Palestinian land, last year X2. Israel is not serious about peace. It is still stealing Palestinian land.

Clip Source: www.democracynow.org

Meanwhile, the Israeli group Peace Now has issued a new report on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The group said construction had begun on more than 1,000 buildings in the West Bank since January, nearly double the number of building starts in the same period in 2007. More than half of the current construction was taking place in areas beyond the settlement blocs Israel has said it intends to keep in any peace agreement with the Palestinians.

Tags: israel

Activists pierce Israeli blockade of Gaza

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 06:41:40 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: "The activists' group was comprised of people between 22 and 81, included students, lawyers, doctors, journalists and an online poker player, organisers said.
Mostly American and British, they included Lauren Booth, the sister-in-law of Tony Blair, the former British prime minister who is now a Middle East envoy.
Many of the activists said they had received death threats before they set sail, leading some to drop out."

Clip Source: english.aljazeera.net

Boats reach Gaza despite blockade

Two vessels spent 30-hours journeying to the Gaza Strip from Cyprus [AFP]

Two vessels carrying 46 international human rights activists have reached the Gaza Strip, despite Israel's strict 14-month siege of the Palestinian territory.

The end of the mission to symbolically break the siege came after Israel backed down from an earlier warning to the 'Free Gaza' protest group not to breach the blockade.

Al Jazeera's Ashraf Amritti in Gaza said: "The arrival of these two boats is a very symbolic gesture for the Palestinian cause, to end the siege, end the occupation.

In fact, those phrases are written across the peace boats which carry flags from more than 70 nationalities."

The boats set sail on Friday on a 370km voyage from the Mediterranean island of Cyprus carrying activists from 17 countries, including Israel, with the aim of drawing attention to Israel's blockade of Gaza and its affect on the people there.

We deeply appreciate and salute the activists

Tags: gaza, israel

Bush Admin may snuff General's report on Israel misconduct

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 00:08:22 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Top US official there issues report critical of Israeli settlements on Palestinian land. Will Bush "listen to the General on the ground" or quietly gag the best report they've got?

Clip Source: www.democracynow.org

US Considers Quashing Report Critical of Israel

In other news, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports the Bush administration is debating whether to silence a forthcoming high-level report critical of Israel’s conduct in the Occupied Territories. The report is written by the top US official there, retired general James Jones. According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Jones has written a “scathing” report criticizing both the Israeli government and the White House. Israeli officials who met with Jones said they expect the report to be “very harsh, and make Israel look very bad.” Jones is said to be particularly critical of Israel’s claim to have security interests to justify its large settlement blocs on Palestinian land. Top administration officials are said to be so upset by the report they are debating blocking its release.

Tags: israel, palestine

Obama: US should recognize Palestinians' "legitimate difficulties"

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 23:56:29 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Best interest of both Israel and Palestinians to do so

Clip Source: www.democracynow.org

Sen. Barack Obama: “What I think can change is the ability of the United States government and a United States president to be actively engaged with the peace process and to be concerned and recognize the legitimate difficulties that the Palestinian people are experiencing right now. And recognize that it is not only in the interest of the Palestinian people that their situation improves, I believe it’s also in the interest of the Israeli people, because it is going to be very difficult for Israel ever to feel secure if you don’t have some sense of opportunity and prosperity and stability with its—its neighbors.”

Palestinian lawmaker Hanan Ashrawi

Hanan Ashrawi: "It’s the credibility of the US, the interest of the US has been adversely all affected by the last three years of American policy that has wreaked havoc in the region. We need re-engagement, but we need positive re-engagement in ways that would curb Israeli violations and would help produce a just and genuine peace.”

Tags: israel, palestine

Another $170 million for poor Israel

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 04:37:57 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: And another reason I'll be changing from "D" to "I"

Clip Source: www.democracynow.org

Congress Approves Additional $170M For Israel

In news from Capitol Hill, Congress has approved giving Israel an additional $170 million in aid next fiscal year. This means the U.S. will give Israel a total of more than $2.5 billion next year. Israel remains the largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid. The U.S. is planning to give Israel $30 billion over the next 10 years.

Tags: israel

Palestinian Loss of Land 1946-2005

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 04:51:22 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Remarkable maps

Clip Source: attendingtheworld.wordpress.com

Palestinian Loss of Land 1946-2005

Joseph Weitz, Director of the Land Department of the Jewish National Fund, 1940:

“It must be clear that there is no room in the country for both peoples… The only solution is a Land of Israel, at least a western land of Israel, without Arabs… There is no way but to transfer the Arabs from here to the neighboring countries, to transfer all of them, save perhaps for Bethlehem, Nazareth, and the old Jerusalem. Not one village must be left, not one tribe… There is no other solution.”

Dr. Salman Abu-Sitta, Author of Palestine Right Of Return, Sacred, Legal, and Possible, 1999:

“The Palestinian Holocaust is unsurpassed in history. For a country to be occupied, emptied of its people, its physical and cultural landmarks obliterated, its destruction hailed as a miraculous act of God, all done according to a premeditated plan, meticulously executed, internationally supported, and still maintained today…”

Tags: israel, palestine

Tutu: Gaza blockade "abominable"

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 06:44:05 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: "All we had heard about conditions in Gaza – deprivation, a sense of despair, the lack of economic activity – had not prepared us for the stark reality which we saw"

Clip Source: www.independent.co.uk

Tutu: Silence on Gaza blockade shames us all

Archbishop Desmond Tutu has denounced the international community for its "silence and complicity" on what he called Israel's "abominable" 11-month blockade of Gaza.

"All we had heard about conditions in Gaza – deprivation, a sense of despair, the lack of economic activity – had not prepared us for the stark reality which we saw."

He added: "The entire situation is abominable. I believe the ordinary Israeli citizens would not support this blockade if they knew what it really meant to ordinary people like themselves... My message to the international community is that our silence and complicity, especially on the situation in Gaza, shames us all. It is almost like the behaviour of the military junta in Burma."

But he said that events in both South Africa and Northern Ireland had shown that peace would come through negotiations "not with your friends. Peace can only come when enemies sit down and talk".

Tags: tutu, israel, palestine

Israel announces new expansion into West Bank

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 17:10:03 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Despite US and UN pleas to stop

Clip Source: www.rawstory.com

Israel to build new homes in occupied West Bank

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel announced plans on Sunday to build hundreds of new homes in an area of the occupied West Bank the Israeli government considers part of Jerusalem, despite U.S. and Palestinian calls to halt settlement expansion.

The 2003 peace "road map," reaffirmed by Israeli and Palestinian leaders at a conference hosted by Bush in November, requires a halt to all settlement activity on occupied land where Palestinians seek statehood.

Housing Minister Zeev Boim instructed his office to publish a tender to build an additional 763 housing units in Pisgat Zeev and 121 housing units at Har Homa, an area Palestinians refer to as Jabal Abu Ghneim.

Yasser Abed Rabbo, a senior aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said Olmert's government "talks about peace while at the same time works on undermining the basis of peace by increasing settlement activity in Jerusalem and around it."

Tags: israel, palestine, foreign policy

Carter: Gaza Blockade a Human Rights Crime

Mon, 26 May 2008 20:09:32 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: "one of the greatest ... on Earth."

Clip Source: www.payvand.com

Jimmy Carter: Gaza Blockade One of Greatest Human Rights Crimes

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has described Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip as "one of the greatest human rights crimes on Earth."

Mr. Carter was speaking Sunday at a literary festival in Wales. He told The Guardian newspaper that the Israeli blockade has led to what he calls the "imprisonment" of Gaza's 1.6 million Palestinians.

Mr. Carter said the European Union's lack of criticism of the Gaza blockade is "embarrassing." He said the EU should establish relations with Hamas if the group agrees to a cease-fire in Gaza.

Tags: carter, palestine, israel, foreign policy

Carter: Israel has 150 nukes

Mon, 26 May 2008 19:58:01 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Given Israel's habit of invading others, is it any wonder other nations want to protect themselves? They are responsible to their people for national security, and see Israel (and the USA) as likely aggressors. And why shouldn't they, given recent history?

Clip Source: rawstory.com

Jimmy Carter says Israel has 150 nuclear weapons

Asked at a news conference at Wales's Hay literary festival on Sunday how a future U.S. president should deal with the Iranian nuclear threat, Carter put the risk in context by listing atomic weapons held globally.

"The U.S. has more than 12,000 nuclear weapons, the Soviet Union (Russia) has about the same, Great Britain and France have several hundred, and Israel has 150 or more. We have a phalanx of enormous weaponry ... not only of enormous weaponry but of rockets to deliver those missiles on a pinpoint accuracy target," he said, according to a transcript of his remarks.

While experts have long maintained Israel has a nuclear arsenal, the Jewish state has refused to confirm or deny it. The Times of London reported Carter's estimate earlier Monday.

Tags: israel, carter, nuclear weapons, foreign policy

Israel deports US academic for criticizing gov't

Mon, 26 May 2008 16:30:30 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Ah, the model democracy; deports son of holocaust survivor for talking naughty. Freedom is a myth in Israel.

Clip Source: www.commondreams.org

US Academic Deported and Banned for Criticising Israel

JERUSALEM - Norman Finkelstein, the controversial Jewish American academic and fierce critic of Israel, has been deported from the country and banned from the Jewish state for 10 years, it emerged yesterday.Finkelstein, the son of a Holocaust survivor who has accused Israel of using the genocidal Nazi campaign against Jews to justify its actions against the Palestinians, was detained by the Israeli security service, Shin Bet, when he landed at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport on Friday.

“I am confident that I have nothing to hide. Apart from my political views, and the supporting scholarship, there isn’t much more to say for myself: alas, no suicide missions or secret rendezvous with terrorist organisations. I’ve always supported a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders. I’m not an enemy of Israel.”

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel said the deportation of Finkelstein was an assault on free speech.

Tags: israel, democracy, palestinians, freedom