On this Land Day, I was at Erez Crossing. Several hundred youth had managed to find their way around the Hamas policemen blocking the roads leading to Erez. They Shoot the Youth Don’t They? By Johnny Barber (about the author) Become a Fan — Page 1 of 1 page(s) opednews.com On March 30, 1976, the Palestinian people declared a general [...]
A rocket is launched from the Israeli anti-missile system Iron Dome, which could be used against Hezbollah in the event of war with Iran. Photograph: Dan Balilty/AP Israel predicts few casualties from war with Iran Assessment presented to security cabinet forecasts fewer than 300 casualties during three weeks of rocket attacks Israeli security officials have [...]
(MaanImages/Moti Milrod, File) HEBRON (Ma’an) — An Israeli military court renewed the administrative detention of a Palestinian lawmaker for the third time on Friday, a Hamas-affiliated news site reported. Khalil al- Rabai, an MP with Hamas’ Change and Reform Bloc, has been held without charge since he was detained on Dec. 30, 2010, the Palestine [...]
Israel is using the the Gaza Strip as a testing ground for a possible military strike on its arch foe Iran, the head of the radical Palestinian movement Hamas said on Monday. “Israel is warming up the region for a possible war against Iran,”Khaled Meshaal said in an interview with Turkey’s Anatolia news agency. Accusing Israel of pursuing “state terrorism” [...]
Gaza. Everything as usual. (Al Jazeera) By Uri Avnery ‘What have you learned in school today, my son?’ ‘There was no school today. There is an emergency!’ ‘And what have you learned from that, my son?’ Actually, quite a lot. This week’s “round”, as the army likes to call it, followed a well-established pattern, as [...]
Why did Israel decide to attack Gaza again? (PalInfo) By Ramzy Baroud The first Israeli missile sped down to its target, scorching the Gaza earth and everything in between. Palestinians collected the body parts of two new martyrs, while Israeli media celebrated the demise of two terrorists. Zuhair Qasis was the head of the Popular [...]
Gaza violence: ‘we don’t want to escalate but maybe we have no choice’ Rockets from militants are slamming into Israeli cities, Israeli air strikes are killing Palestinian children, and no end is in sight Palestinian relatives of 12-year-old schoolboy Ayoub Useila grieve during his funeral in Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza. Link to this video The yellowing [...]
Israelis survey the damage to shops following a rocket attack in Gaza. Photograph: Uriel Sinai/Getty Images Israel and militant factions in the Gaza Strip have agreed to an Egyptian-brokered truce to end four days of cross-border violence in which 25 Palestinians have been killed, a senior Egyptian security official said. Both sides had “agreed to end the current [...]
CAIRO (Reuters) — A truce is likely soon in the cross-border hostilities between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza but the timing depends on Israel, a senior Hamas official said on Monday. “I expect matters will calm down,” Mahmoud Al-Zahhar told Reuters in Cairo. “The statements coming from them (Israel) either in public [...]
Death toll climbs in Israel strikes on Gaza Medics say at least 11 Palestinians are killed and a dozen more injured after Israel hits Gaza Strip. At least 11 Palestinians have been killed and a dozen others wounded, including children, in a series of Israeli air strikes on the Gaza [...]
Zuhair al-Qaissi was the top commander of the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committee, a large militant group aligned with Hamas. Photograph: Hatem Moussa/AP An Israeli airstrike has killed the commander of the militant group behind the abduction of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier who was held captive for more than five years and freed [...]
Hamas might be reinventing itself. (Via Aljazeera) By Ramzy Baroud Despite all of Hamas’ assurances to the contrary, a defining struggle is taking place within the Palestinian Islamic movement. The outcome of this struggle – which is still confined to polite political disagreements and occasional intellectual tussle – is likely to change Hamas’ outlook, if [...]
By Yousef M. Aljamal – Gaza, Palestine For the 7th week in row, the Center for Political and Development Studies, (CPDS) – a Gaza based think-tank – held a lecture via Skype with Palestinian and international activists, aiming at drawing attention to crucial issues related to Palestine. Palestinians have been misrepresented and defamed [...]
King Abdullah (R) meets with Khaled Meshaal (L) and Sheikh Tamim at the Royal Palace in Amman [Reuters] Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal is in Jordan on his first official visit since he was forced to leave in 1999 for what authorities called “illicit and harmful” activities. The trip on Sunday by Meshaal, who was accompanied by Qatar‘s [...]
The Stolen War by Uri Avnery, January 07, 2012 | Print This | Share This | Antiwar Forum Is there no limit to the villainy of Hamas? Seems there isn’t. This week, they did something quite unforgivable. They stole a war. For some weeks now, our almost new Chief of Staff, Benny Gantz, [...]
Mourners pray at the funeral of seven family members killed when Israeli forces shelled their home in Jabaliya refugee camp on Jan. 9 2009. (MaanImages/Wissam Nassar) GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Palestine on Saturday marked the 47th Martyrs’ Day, a national day declared by late President Yasser Arafat in 1965. Muhammad Nahhal, an official in a [...]
For Israel, the regional transformation will prove unbearable. (Aljazeera) By Ramzy Baroud There was an unmistakable hint of triumph in the comments made by Ismail Haniyeh, Prime Minister of the elected Hamas government in Gaza when he was hosted by Mohammed Badie, Supreme Guide of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood. Both leaders said what would be expected [...]
A police officer stands on an aid boat in the Gaza sea port. (MaanImages/Eman Mohammed, File) GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Around 100 international activists will arrive in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday in the eighth “Miles of smiles” convoy bringing medical aid to the besieged population, coordinator Isam Mustafa said. The activists will bring medicine [...]
Turkey’s Prime Minister Erdogan and Hamas‘ Gaza leader Haniyeh greet members of parliament from Erdogan’s ruling AK Party during a meeting at the Turkish parliament on January 3, 2012. (REUTERS/Stringer) ANKARA: Gaza’s Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniya received a warm welcome on Tuesday from lawmakers of Turkey’s ruling party during a visit [...]
Senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh welcomes Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Badie before their meeting at the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood movement in Cairo on Dec. 26, 2011. (REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El-Ghany) By Ramzy Baroud There was an unmistakable hint of triumph in the comments made by Ismail Haniyeh, Prime Minister of the elected Hamas [...]
Hamas supporters attend a rally in Gaza City, on Dec. 14, 2011, marking the 24th anniversary of the Hamas movement’s foundation. (REUTERS/Mohammed Salem) GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Hamas leader Ismail Radwan said on Wednesday the PLO meeting with Israeli envoys in Amman on Tuesday would damage Fatah’s reconciliation deal with his faction. “We consider these [...]
(MaanImages/File) GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Fatah central committee member Nabil Shaath met with Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahhar in Gaza City on Tuesday afternoon to progress the reconciliation deal between their parties. In a press statement, Shaath said they discussed the political detentions in Gaza and the West Bank and ways to implement the agreement, despite [...]
Palestinian and left-wing Israeli demonstrators face tear gas fired by Israeli forces during clashes at a protest against a nearby settlement, in Nabi Saleh village, near Ramallah, on Dec. 16, 2011. (Reuters/Darren Whiteside) BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahhar has cast doubt his party will take up peaceful resistance against Israel as advocated by [...]
(MaanImages/Wissam Nassar, File) GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zahri said on Monday that Palestinians envoys meeting their Israeli counterparts this week were “reproducing a failed policy.” Hamas calls on the Palestinian Authority to boycott the meeting, set for Tuesday in the Jordanian capital, Abu Zahri said. The only beneficiary of the summit [...]
The Sad, Sad World of Israel’s Big-time Liars ‘A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes’ –attributed to Mark Twain By Stuart Littlewood Meet another of Israel’s undesirables, Yuli Edelstein. He is the regime’s Propaganda Minister (or to be more precise, Minister for Dis-information [...]
Residents of Khan Younis inspect damage to their land and houses after an incursion of Israeli tanks. (MaanImages/Hatem Omar, File) GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Israeli tanks on Friday opened fire on Zaitoun neighborhood south of Gaza City, witnesses said. Locals reported hearing huge explosions. Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said no injuries had been [...]
When observing the aerial bombardment, heavy artillery and haubitzer shelling ofGaza, three years ago, I remembered Erich Maria Remarqe’s, bookAll quiet on the Western Front, and the passage that has been deeply imprinted into my memory, where he described the shelling of a graveyard during the first world war, while a platoon of troops that [...]
At 10:55 am, an Israeli naval warship attacked the international observers and Palestinian captain of the Civil Peace Service Gaza (CPSGAZA) boat Oliva, injuring its captain in an apparent attempt to capsize it. The two international observers, both Italian citizens, are available for media questions or interviews.”The Israeli navy passed near us and [...]
Netanyahu Rejects Peace By Stephen Lendman - Posted on 27 December 2011 Netanyahu Rejects Peace - by Stephen Lendman Sham Israeli peace negotiations were stillborn from inception. Writer Henry Siegman once called them “the most spectacular deception in modern diplomatic history.” Netanyahu once said they’re “a waste of time.” Previous Israeli officials called occupation and status [...]
A woman and child pictured in front of buildings damaged by Israel in the Gaza war.(MaanImages/file) TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma’an) — Israel’s army chief on Tuesday marked the third anniversary of the Gaza war by hailing Operation Cast Lead as an ‘excellent’ operation. Lieutenant Benny Gantz made the remarks during an interview with Army Radio. [...]
People stand next to the body of a man killed in an Israeli air strike at a hospital in the northern Gaza Strip.(Reuters/Mohammed Salem) GAZA CITY (Reuters) — An Israeli airstrike killed one person in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday as the coastal enclave marked the third anniversary of the Gaza war. Abdallah Telbani died [...]
In Telethon, Israeli Military Chief Pushes New Gaza Invasion by Jason Ditz, December 27, 2011 | Print This | Share This | Antiwar Forum Speaking today during the Israeli Army’s “annual telethon” on Army Radio, military Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz pushed for a new invasion of the Gaza Strip [...]
Smoke rises over Gaza City after an airstrike (MaanImages) GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Hamas commemorated the third anniversary of the Gaza war on Tuesday by stating that the coastal enclave has become a symbol of dignity in the face of adversity. “The siege imposed on Gaza has failed to realize Israel’s goals when faced with [...]
(MaanImages, File) GAZA CITY (Reuters) — An Israeli airstrike killed one person in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday as the coastal enclave marked the third anniversary of the Gaza war. Abdallah Telbani died and two other Palestinians were wounded by a blast that ripped through a tuk-tuk, or motorised rickshaw, in Gaza City, hospital officials [...]
Khalid Mashaal, leader of Hamas, gestures during a press conference. (MaanImages/file) BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Hamas chief in exile Khalid Mashaal said Monday that a unity government must be formed to end the division between the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Speaking to Palestine TV, Mashaal said that Palestinian factions had agreed to a political program [...]
Arabs not only want change but a change for the better. (Aljazeera) By Mohamed El MokhtarOne of the most significant consequences of the so-called ‘Arab Spring’ is the forceful emergence of the Muslim Brotherhood as an influential political force and social movement in the Middle East. The movement seems, like [...]
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a Likud party meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem Nov. 21, 2011. (Reuters/Baz Ratner) TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma’an) — Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that he will not negotiate with any Palestinian government that includes Hamas.”If Hamas joins the Palestinian government we will [...]
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) – The premier of the Hamas-run government in the Gaza Strip is to depart via Egypt on Sunday for the first time since the enclave came under siege. Haniyeh is scheduled to visit Egypt, then Sudan and a number of other countries, according to sources in Gaza. The tour could include Turkey, [...]
Netanyahu Office Condemns Palestinians for Efforts at PLO Unity Says Abbas ‘Walking Away From Peace’ by Jason Ditz, December 22, 2011 | Print This | Share This | Antiwar Forum Reports that Hamas and several other factions are planning to join [...]
CAIRO (Ma’an) — Hamas has agreed to join the Palestine Liberation Organization in a move intended to bolster Palestinian reconciliation, The Associated Press reported Thursday. The report comes as President Mahmoud Abbas met Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal in Cairo to put “final touches” on an agreement to reconcile the leaders’ rival factions. Fatah leader in [...]
A woman holds a photo of her relative held in an Israeli jail during a protest calling for the release of prisoners.(REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini) RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Five female prisoners at Israel’s Hasharon jail started a hunger strike on Wednesday in protest against not being included in the prisoner exchange deal between Israel and [...]
A member of the Palestinian community holds a flag near the office of the United Nations in Managua. (Reuters/Jorge Cabrera) BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said Wednesday that Palestinian factions have reached agreement on six steps to be taken as part of ongoing reconciliation talks. In a statement received by Ma’an, Barhoum said [...]
Hamas‘ conundrum may prove too difficult to solve. (Aljazeera) By Ramzy BaroudEver since Hamas emerged victorious in the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections, myriad public opinion polls revealed that its popularity in the Occupied Territories was on a steady decline. However, there are actually few indications that Hamas as a popular movement will be departing [...]
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — A member of the Hamas political bureau said Tuesday that attendees at a meeting to discuss reconciliation postponed the decisive issue of PLO membership until later in the week. Izzat al-Risheq said “elections dates were discussed and agreed on forming a central elections committee. The committee is formed from one delegate [...]
Talal Shreim reunited with his mother after serving 10 years in Israeli prisons [Mohammad Alsaafin/ Al Jazeera] Talal Shreim could not stop beaming as he sat in his new living room in Doha, Qatar, finally surrounded by his family after having spent 10 years in an Israeli jail. Less than 24 hours before, he was [...]
Palestinians take part in a protest against disagreement between Hamas and Fatah in Gaza. (MaanImages/Stringer) GAZA CITY (Ma’an) – Two delegations representing Hamas and Fatah are scheduled to meet in Cairo on Sunday to evaluate what has been achieved on the ground since the heads of both parties met a month ago. Fatah leader president [...]
Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF) have arrested nearly 470Palestinians since 18 October 2011 , when 477 Palestinian political prisoners were released in exchange for captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit as part of the first phase of theprisoner exchange deal concluded by the Israeli government and Hamas authorities. This wave of arrests reveals that the exchange deal has not deterred Israel‘s [...]
Palestinians hold pictures of their jailed relatives as they take part in a protest calling for the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails, in Gaza City on Dec. 12, 2011. (REUTERS/ Ibraheem Abu Mustafa) GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Six women and 55 children are among the detainees due to be released in days in [...]
A Masked Palestinian fighter in Gaza. (Zoriah.net) By Ramzy BaroudEssam Al-Batsh and his nephew, Sobhi Al-Batsh, are the latest in a long line of reported Palestinian ‘militants’ killed by Israel. The civilians were both targeted while driving in a car in downtown Gaza on December 8. According to an Israeli army [...]
Hamas leader Khalid Mashaal (front L) and President Mahmoud Abbas (front R) shake hands after their meeting in Cairo Nov. 24, 2011. (Reuters/Mohamed Al Hams/HO) GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Committees working on the terms of a reconciliation deal between Fatah and Hamas have made little progress, and increasing political detentions may threaten the accord, Hamas [...]
