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Today in Palestine
Shadi Fadda--March 19, 2011--www.TheHeadlines.org--Ethnic cleansing / Settlers

Erasing Palestine from Lifta / Sophie O`Brien
[photos] 19 Mar -- The Israel Land Administration (ILA) has put a plan in place which would see land in the village of Lifta, a former Palestinian village situated on the north-west edge of Jerusalem sold to private developers. A plan which would see Palestinian history completely stripped from the village ... Over 500 Arab villages were depopulated or demolished during the 1948 war by the ruthless colonial Zionist forces. Lifta is an exception in this respect as it is `the only village which remains as it was before 1948,` Daphna Golan asserts, a Professor of Law at the Hebrew University and organiser of the petition to save Lifta.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1723

Settlers attack village near Salfeet

SALFEET, 18 Mar (WAFA) -- Dozens of Israeli settlers Friday attacked the village of Yasouf, east of Salfeet, according to witnesses. They said residents confronted the settlers, who came from nearby Tapouach settlement, to prevent them from causing damage or harm to the villagers. Israeli soldiers later raided the village and fired tear gas at the village, said the residents.[Yasouf has fruit trees and vegetable gardens fed by a spring at the base of a cliff, which has long been coveted by the settlers.]


http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=15549

Medics: Settlers attack Palestinian man
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 19 Mar -- A Palestinian man was hospitalized Saturday after he was attacked by a group of settlers in Nablus, medics said. Mahmoud Rashad Atallah, 30, was driving near the illegal Yitzhar settlement when settlers obstructed his car and assaulted him. Attallah sustained injuries to his head and chest and was taken by ambulance to Rafedia hospital, medics from the Palestinian Red Crescent said. On Friday, 35-year-old Talal Ad-Dmeidi was beaten with sticks by settlers in the same area.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=370068

Ayman`s horse killed by settlers
[photos] Jordan Valley Solidarity 19 Mar -- Three days ago, Ayman, a boy of eleven years old from Ein Il Hilwe, was attacked by three settlers from the illegal Israeli settlement of Maskyyot. The settlers arrived in a blue car when Ayman was playing with four friends near the spring water. This spring water is 30 meters far from his home, however, Ayman, his family, and all the Palestinian living in the Jordan Valley, are banned to use them and usually threatened and attacked by settlers when they are around. In this occasion, the settlers who attacked Ayman, took his horse, tied a cable around its neck and after tried to asphyxiate the animal, the settlers broke its head. The settlers carried out all this brutality in front of the eyes and horror of Ayman and his friends.Ayman’s sisters were attacked in the same place when they approached the spring water to give water to their cows. Also two month ago, Ayman’s mother was also beaten by settlers. The Israeli illegal occupation is also working with bulldozers in this area preparing the land for expending Maskyoot settlement.
http://www.jordanvalleysolidarity.org/index.php?option=com_content&
view=article&id=194:aymans-horse-killed-by-settlers&catid=15:2010&Itemid=21

Technology could ease water crisis in Israel, West Bank
UPI 18 Mar -- For Lauren Costello, the severity of the Israeli-Palestinian water shortage is illustrated by one thing: an ordinary bucket. Adel Handal, whose family hosted Costello, an American, for a two-month service trip to Bethlehem, places the bucket in the bottom of the family`s shower to catch water. Like many people in the West Bank, the Handals must save and reuse every drop. `Water is never guaranteed here,` Costello said in a phone interview. `Whenever it rains, people are like `Oh, thank God! We needed this so badly.`` The Handals have running water courtesy of Mekerot, the national water company of Israel. But Mekerot shuts off the pipes to Bethlehem when water is scarce. `“They control the water,` Handal said in a phone interview. `In the summer, they cut it. Sometimes a month, no water.`
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2011/03/18/
Technology-could-ease-water-crisis-in-Israel-West-Bank/UPIU-3691299780913/

Israeli municipality of Jerusalem seeks controlling education curriculum
JERUSALEM, 17 Mar (WAFA) -- The Israeli Municipality’s department of Education Thursday, mainstreamed its latest resolution on all the recognized public and private schools which it finances which includes purchasing only the supervised and improved curriculum. The resolution which was issued on March 7; states that all schools must purchase the Israeli new supervised and improved curriculum for 2011-2012, thus canceling the Palestinian curriculum in East Jerusalem as a way of applying the Israeli law of school supervision issued in 1969 ... The [Al-Maqdissi] Foundation warned of the implementation and enforcement of the Israeli curriculum which will be forced on 60% of schools causing obliteration of the Palestinians’ cultural identity.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=15545

Palestinians burn settler home in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 18 Mar -- A settler house was set on fire Friday as Palestinians threw Molotov cocktails at it in the Wad Ar-Rabab area of the Silwan neighborhood in Jerusalem. Palestinians threw stones and more Molotov cocktails toward the settlers as they attempted to put out the fire, witnesses said. An Israeli border guard officer suffered burns and was hospitalized, locals said. Photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Turk was also injured during the clash and taken to hospital. Israeli forces fired tear gas toward Palestinian residents of the area and their homes.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=370004

2010 Video: Settlers singing a song praising Baruch Goldstein in Sheikh Jarrah
uploaded 7 Mar 2010 -- Dr. Baruch Goldstein, an American-Israeli settler, launched a suicide attack on Palestinian worshipers in the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron during Purim (and Ramadan) in 1994. He killed 30 (one died later in hospital) and injured 124 with an automatic rifle; he was killed by survivors. Five weeks later, on April 6, Hamas and Islamic Jihad perpetrated the first Palestinian suicide attack in Israel, in Afula, killing eight Israelis. Certain of the most extreme settlers regard Goldstein as a hero, as can be heard in this song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psVxOnXbyYQ

The Big Picture: Israeli settlements in the West Bank
Boston Globe, June 2009 -- 37 photos giving an overview, worth looking at even now
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/06/israeli_settlements_in_the_wes.html

Cycle of violence Israel-Gaza

Southern Israel bombarded with over 50 rockets from Gaza
Haaretz 19 Mar 10:42 -- Southern Israel was bombarded with rockets from Gaza on Saturday morning, with over 50 rockets landing in the southern part of the county, Israeli media reported. Two people were reported to be lightly injured and two homes damaged by the barrage of rockets. The rockets began to land in the early hours of Saturday, with most of them landing in open areas in southern Israel`s western Eshkol region. Two of the rockets landed on small communities in the area. In response to the rocket barrage, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman instructed the Israeli envoy to the United Nations to lodge an official complaint.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/
southern-israel-bombarded-with-over-50-rockets-from-gaza-1.350158

5 Palestinians hurt as Israel strikes Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 19 Mar 12:03 -- Five Palestinians sustained injuries Saturday as Israeli forces struck targets in the Gaza Strip and Hamas claimed responsibility for firing 49 mortar shells that struck the western Negev. Locals said the Israeli strikes targeted a security facility of Hamas` military wing in Gaza City`s Shuja‘iyya neighborhood. The ministry of interior in Gaza said three Hamas security officers were injured in the Israeli shelling attack, including one seriously, raising the injury count to five. Medical official Adham Abu Salmiya said earlier that a 3-year-old boy was lightly injured by shrapnel to the head. He added that a 26-year-old man sustained moderate wounds in his foot and his hand. Both were evacuated to Ash-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Hamas` military wing claimed responsibility for the mortar attacks...
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=370086

Israel strikes Gaza after massive rocket barrage on south
Haaretz 19 Mar 12:36 -- Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, claimed responsibility for firing 10 of Saturday`s mortars, an unusual move after a long period in which it had let other smaller militant groups do its bidding. `Targeting the enemy`s posts was a response to the ongoing Zionist assaults, airstrikes and tanks shelling on the Gaza Strip. The latest was two days ago, where two of our mujahidin were killed,` said Hamas` armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades. An Israel Defense Forces spokesman said Israel was holding Hamas `solely responsible for the attacks`. Gaza residents reported hearing constant shelling along the enclave`s border with Israel and the IDF spokesman said tanks assisted by aircraft were firing at militant targets in the coastal strip.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/
israel-strikes-gaza-after-massive-rocket-barrage-on-south-1.350171

Palestinians: Hamas official killed, 4 injured in IDF strike
Ynet 19 Mar 16:36 -- A Hamas official was killed and four civilians were wounded in an IDF attack on the Gaza Strip, which included tank fire and air strikes, said Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Adham Abu Salmia.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4044509,00.html

Siege / Blockade / Humanitarian issues

Video: Gaza farmers work under fire
PressTV 19 Mar -- Many Palestinian farmers, including women and children, have come under Israeli fire along the so-called `buffer zone` in the northern and eastern parts of the Gaza Strip over the past two years ... Safa Joudeh interviews a woman whose 19-year-old son was killed by the Israelis -- along with all but one of his sheep.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/170668.html

Gaza ... fed by gravel / Ahmed Abdullah
16 Mar -- Workers began to collect gravel since the Israeli aggression on Gaza ended in 2008, where the occupation forces prevented gravel from entering the city. This prompted residents to search for an alternative to provide gravel to those who need it for building in general, or to reconstruct homes destroyed during the war ... As for the dangers inflicted on the workers in this field, Abu-Salmiah said that the ignorance of some workers to the dangers of the job subjects them to death…their jobs can lead to cancer because they are digging through the debris of homes that have been bombed. Engineer Osama Kahil, president of the Palestinian Contractor Union ...said that the gravel collected by the workers is from building debris; unusable. He added: `We as contractors strictly refuse to call it gravel and refuse to reuse it. It’s dangerous, and its dangers will show in about 10 years, because it retains water and causes the beams to rust.`
http://www.islamonline.net/en/IOLArticle_C/1278407601607/1278406708816/IOLArticle_C

The `parking lot` school
Bethlehem - ANERA to PNN 19 Mar - Picture a young eight-year-old girl heading to school. She arrives in front of a building and slowly walks down a steep, asphalt slope. She is careful because she knows if she runs down the slope she is likely to fall and scrape her knees. At the bottom, she does not enter a bright and colorful school building. Instead, she enters a small, dark, stuffy makeshift school area that was converted from an old, underground parking garage.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9733&Itemid=63

Weekly report on Israeli human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territory (10-16 March 2011)
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Continued Systematic Attacks against Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) -- -Two Palestinians were killed by an IOF air strike in the Gaza Strip. -Two Palestinian workers were wounded in the same attack. -Three buildings on the targeted site were destroyed. -Israeli settlers escalated attacks on Palestinian civilians and their property in the West Bank. -PCHR documented 40 attacks by Israeli settlers in the West Bank....
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/JARD-8F35LN?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P

Detention

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

Campaign launched to save the life of kidney patient in Israeli jail
NABLUS, (PIC) 19 Mar -- The Palestinian prisoner society launched a campaign to demand international organizations to intervene to save the life of prisoner Abdelkhaliq Gurani and provide him with urgent appropriate medical treatment. Director of the society in Tubas city Mahmoud Sawafta said the Israeli administration of Megiddo prison refuses to provide him with serious medical treatment despite the deterioration of his health. Sawafta added that prisoner Gurani suffers from kidney failure and severe anemia
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bc

Prisoners` club demands immediate investigation on assaulting prisoners
RAMALLAH, March17 (WAFA) - The prisoner’s club Thursday demanded an urgent investigation due to the brutal attacks against prisoners during their arrests. PPS (Palestinian Prisoner’s Club) lawyer, Jacqueline Fararjeh, met a number of the prisoners who were arrested recently, and reported that the Israeli forces raided their homes, severely beaten their families and arrested them at dawn. The prisoners said that the Israeli forces led them to an isolated area close to an army camp called ‘Karmi Tzur’ , covered their eyes and severely beaten them, after tying their hands and feet as well as floating [dragging?] some of them over a rocky ground causing serious bruises. They added that some of the soldiers opened the military’s jeep back door and threw a prisoner from inside of the jeep while holding his hands dragging him as the jeep was going at a high speed causing severe injuries to his body.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=1554



Refugees

Young disabled refugees lead the way at winter camp
16 Mar -- Jericho, West Bank -- Mustafa Abu Khurj, from Jenin refugee camp, was injured during the first Intifada, and is now in a wheelchair. His disability, as well as Israeli access restrictions in the West Bank, makes travel difficult. An event organised by UNRWA this winter gave Mustafa a rare chance to travel and meet new people. The four-day leadership event for young refugees with disabilities was organised by UNRWA`s disability programme in cooperation with with community organisations and local NGOs.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/ASAZ-8F3EY6?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P


Activism / Solidarity

March against the wall in Jenin
ENIN (Ma‘an) 19 Mar -- The Popular Committee Against the Wall and Fatah organized on Thursday a march in Anin village to plant 200 olive trees. Fatah secretary general Radi Khadour said at the march that the separation wall was isolating the village and turning it into a prison.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=369868



Scotland protests in solidarity with Palestinians
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 19 Mar -- Dozens of Scots and Arabs chanted slogans about ending division Thursday in Glasgow in solidarity with Palestinians in Manara and Katiba squares ... Glasgow`s many solidarity groups have launched campaigns to boycott Israeli settlement goods.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=369473

War crimes / International kidnapping

UN expert panel reports little progress in probe of possible Gaza war crimes
GENEVA 18 Mar -- A U.N.-appointed panel has reported little progress by either Israel or the Palestinians in investigating alleged war crimes in 2009 in Gaza. The panel, chaired by former New York Supreme Court Judge Mary McGowan Davis, said Israeli authorities `significantly constrained` its work by refusing to provide access to Israel, the West Bank, or Gaza via Israel, according to a 27-page report obtained Friday by The Associated Press ... The panel -- appointed by the U.N. Human Rights Council -- also said it was `extremely concerned` Hamas did not investigate rocket and mortar attacks against Israel. The 47-nation council planned to take up the panel`s report Monday.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/
ALeqM5ge1cAKAJUe8RzxdZOtO3NTAOl2jQ?docId=6292865

Gaza and Libya: compare and contrast
19 Mar -- Some interesting letters in The Guardian today: When Israel bombed Gaza at the end of 2008 in a brutal action which killed 1,300 people and destroyed 20,000 buildings, there was no question of the US allowing the UN to impose a no-fly zone over Gaza to protect its people, 50% of which are children. Those who support the UN security council`s authorisation of a no-fly zone over Libya (Britain, France and US line up for air strikes against Gaddafi, 18 March) need to reflect on the selective nature of UN intervention throughout the world and in the Middle East in particular.
http://jewssansfrontieres.blogspot.com/2011/03/gaza-and-libya-compare-and-contrast.html

Ukraine not ready for prime time or 2012 Euro Cup / Richard Silverstein
18 Mar -- ...Ukraine also sees tourism with Israel as a major opportunity because there are many former Ukrainian Jews living in Israel, and Ukraine, as the cradle of Hasidism, includes major pilgrimage sites for Orthodox Jews ... This is why Ukraine still has interest in joining NATO and just signed a protocol with Israel ending the need for visas for mutual travel. On his current visit to Israel, Prime Minister Azarov emphasized his country’s interest in signing a Free Trade agreement with Israel that would create a duty-free zone for products and services between the nations. As part of this expansion of trade, there would also be an expansion of security and military cooperation of the sort that characterized Ukraine’s presumed participation in the abduction of Palestinian civil engineer Dirar Abusisi on a train in Poltava on the night of February 18th.
http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2011/03/18/
ukraine-not-ready-for-prime-time-or-2012-euro-cup/


Quest for Palestinian unity

Police disperse pro-unity protest in Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 19 Mar 13:58 -- Security forces in the Gaza Strip dispersed a demonstration between Al-Azhar University and the Unknown Soldier Square in Gaza City on Saturday morning ... About 800 youths gathered in front of Al-Azhar University, but police dispersed the protesters and beat some of them, participants said. Young people attempted to stay inside the courtyard of the square but police cars encircled the area and prevented any gatherings, a protester in the coalition told Ma`an. The coalition said it asked for permission to hold the protest but never heard back from police.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=370158

Gaza journalist: Hamas threatened to kill me
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 19 Mar 16:49 -- A Palestinian journalist in the Gaza Strip said Saturday that she received threats of violence from Hamas officials over her participation in demonstrations ... The journalist, who requested anonymity due to fears of reprisal, said she was detained and that while in jail, police referenced her son by name and indirectly threatened to take action against him over her work ... Other journalists told Ma‘an that authorities were taking unprecedented measures against press in the wake of the demonstrations. Cameras and recording equipment have been confiscated and data erased ... On Saturday, about 100 reporters held an impromptu demonstration in front of a Hamas building in Gaza City protesting their treatment hours earlier at a protest that was violently dispersed.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=370192

Witnesses: Police in Gaza attack journalists
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 19 Mar 13:04 -- Police in the Gaza Strip attacked journalists covering demonstrations in support of unity efforts, briefly detaining photographers for The Associated Press and Reuters, onlookers said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=370150

Former PLC speaker wants to accompany Abbas to Gaza
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 19 Mar 13:23 -- Former speaker of parliament Aziz Dweik said Saturday he wished to accompany President Mahmoud Abbas in his visit to the Gaza Strip to help with efforts to end rivalry and achieve national unity. Dweik called on all Hamas lawmakers and leaders in the Gaza Strip to give a warm welcome to Abbas when he arrives in Gaza.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=370137

Where will Abbas stay if he visits Gaza?
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 19 Mar 13:59 -- President Mahmoud Abbas has sent three delegates to the Gaza Strip in order to arrange for his stay in the besieged enclave, Palestinian officials said Saturday ... But given that most the Palestinian Authority’s institutions in Gaza are under Hamas’ control including the presidential headquarters, Abbas may have a hard time finding a place to stay. Abbas has a private house in Gaza City, which has been guarded by Hamas officers to prevent vandalism or theft. Hamas officials say that despite the movement`s control of the PA headquarters, the presidential office has been shut down since June 2007 after it was robbed.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=370065



Local singer joins Ramallah protests
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 18 Mar -- Reem Talhami, a Palestinian singer, joined Palestinians Friday in Ramallah protesting for national unity. She sang a new song for Gaza and dedicated it to all the Palestinians in Gaza.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=370022

Political / Diplomatic news

US denies report that it`s mulling strategic dialogue with Hezbollah
Haaretz 18 Mar -- White House spokesman Tommy Vietor stressed the U.S.`s unwavering no-contact policy with Hezbollah, denying allegations otherwise reported in a Washington Post article published Friday.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/
u-s-denies-report-that-it-s-mulling-strategic-dialogue-with-hezbollah-1.350117

Taha dismisses Haaretz `lies`
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) -- Hamas leader Ayman Taha denied reports in Israeli media Friday that he was under investigation for corruption ... Hamas also dismissed the `miserable attempt to undermine the credibility of the movement.`
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=369998


Other news

Israel deploys a miniature missile defence system / Pierre Klochendler
NAHAL OZ, ISRAEL-GAZA BORDER, 18 Mar (IPS) - Amidst recrudescence of tension on this critical front, the Israeli army is hoping to gain the technological upper hand in missile combat with `Palestinian militants` by equipping one of its most sophisticated tanks with a miniature missile defence system ... With its sensors and radar, the APS/Windbreaker detects an incoming missile, dispatches interceptor missiles, and destroys the hostile weapon before it can hit the tank.
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=54908


US promoting arms trade mission organized by settlement firm
EI 18 Mar -- The United States Department of Commerce and the US embassy in Tel Aviv are co-promoting the Israel Unmanned Systems 2011 trade mission from 27 March to 1 April. Their partner -- and the primary organizer -- is Airlift, inc., an aerospace and consulting firm based in the settlement of Talpiot Mizrach (East Talpiot) in occupied East Jerusalem. This raises troubling questions about why Washington is promoting the Israeli arms trade and why it is doing so with a firm based in an illegal colony which explicitly contradicts official US policy as well as international law.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11866.shtml



Young man takes imam`s place at Ramallah mosque
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 19 Mar 1:16 -- As the imam of a mosque in central Ramallah prepared to give his sermon, hundreds of worshipers were surprised when a young man took the microphone and said the voice of the youth should be heard. Worshipers at the Abdul Nasser mosque told Ma‘an that the imam went up and hugged the young man asking him to step down because everyone was waiting for sermon. The imam promised the young man could speak afterwards.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=370030



Jerusalem ad axed for misleading tourists
17 Mar -- A Palestinian government magazine advert promoting Jerusalem and other Israeli cities as part of `Palestine` has been banned in the UK. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled this week that the Palestinian Tourism Ministry promotion, which appeared in January`s edition of National Geographic`s Traveller magazine, was `misleading advertising` and must not appear again in its current form.
http://www.totallyjewish.com/news/national/c-15949/jerusalem-ad-axed-for-misleading-tourists/

Analysis / Opinion / Human interest

***A Gazan`s reflection on the murder of Jews in Itamar / Samar Sabawi
19 Mar -- The morning news of the Itamar murders broke out, I got a call from my father, a man from Gaza whose entire life was derailed by Israel`s occupation of his land. He was fuming: `nothing could justify these murders` he yelled `even if we were to bring up the occupation, the harassment, the brutality of Israel`s army and settlers - the minute we entertain an act so criminal as to kill a baby in cold blood, we become no better than those whose acts we despise.` I posted his comment on my Facebook wall. A day later, some of my Jewish friends sent me messages inquiring if it was true that Palestinians in Gaza celebrate the killing of Jews. One of them asked `Is there a custom to give out sweets after such events?` ... I began an extensive search on the internet. There were references to Gaza’s celebrations in a variety of international media websites including Fox News and Washington Post, but all the references pointed to one original source – three photos by AFP cameraman posted on Getty images, so I followed the trail. The three original photos starred the same man with the same small sweets platter ... There was nothing in the photos to convey a sense of joy or celebration: there were no crowds, no smiling faces, no banners, no flags and no scarfs… in fact, no people appeared in the photos except for the man with the platter and his subjects. This was highly unusual for a Gaza celebration ... But even if we were to assume that this lone man with the sweets platter was genuinely celebrating, how on earth does something like that make international media? One Palestinian man in a population of 1.5 million offering a tray of desserts? ... Did the same newspapers that published these photos also publish photos of busloads of Israeli tourists standing on a hill top celebrating while watching phosphorus rain fall on Palestinians during Israel’s bombardment of Gaza in 2009? The double standard here is astonishing ... The photos of so-called ‘Gaza celebrations’ are becoming an internet sensation because they offer desperately needed proof that Palestinians are evil in nature..[See also A Brand New Myth for the Israeli Right, which has all three photos]
http://www.palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16728

Ahmed Masoud: Was I switched at birth?
Guardian 19 Mar -- After Ahmed Masoud was born in Gaza, the hospital was bombed. His father rushed to the special care unit – but did he take home the right baby?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/mar/19/ahmed-masoud-born-gaza-hospital-separated


Iraq

Friday: 2 Iraqis killed, 16 wounded
Thousands of Iraqis attended protests again this Friday; however, many of the protests were in solidarity with Shi’ite protesters in Bahrain. Meanwhile, at least two Iraqis were killed and 16 more were wounded ... both Iraq and the United States are weighing the pros and cons of retaining U.S. troops in Iraq beyond the end of this year. If they do not stay, the State Department could take over many of their operations while still allowing the United State to fulfill a commitment to withdraw all U.S. military troops by the end of the year.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2011/03/18/friday-2-iraqis-killed-16-wounded/

10 reasons Iraq was no cakewalk / Medea Benjamin & Charles Davis
19 Mar -- March 19 marks the eighth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, a nation that had no weapons of mass destruction and was not involved in the 9/11 attacks. It was sold to the American public as a war to defend our nation and free the Iraqi people. U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz said our soldiers would be greeted as liberators and that Iraqi oil money would pay for the reconstruction. Vice President Dick Cheney said the military effort would take `weeks rather than months.` And Defense Secretary Assistant Ken Adelman predicted that `liberating Iraq would be a cakewalk.` Eight years on, it’s time to look back at that `cakewalk.` ... A January 2008 analysis by British polling firm Opinion Research Business, meanwhile, estimated `that over 1,000,000 Iraqi citizens have died as a result of the conflict which started in 2003.`
http://original.antiwar.com/medea-benjamin-davis/2011/03/18/10-reasons-iraq-was-no-cakewalk/


U.S.

US agrees to improve human rights record
GENEVA (AP) 18 Mar -- The United States on Friday disavowed torture and pledged to treat terror suspects humanely, but set aside calls to drop the death penalty, as the United Nations carried out its first review of Washington`s human rights record. As part a groundbreaking commitment to improvement under the Obama administration, the U.S. joined the 47-nation Human Rights Council in 2009. And in doing so, submitted to more international scrutiny.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110318/ap_on_re_eu/un_un_us_human_rights


--
www.TheHeadlines.org

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Links to the latest articles in this section

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