Posted by seumasach on January 10, 2009
10th January, 2009
There is some truth in this Haaretz’ opinion “Israeli rejection of Gaza deal may topple Abbas” because Kuwaiti newspaper Awan revealed today that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told his aides that he wants to resign from his post and call for new elections. Abbas don’t want to lead the Palestinian Authority under the current political circumstances.
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Posted by seumasach on January 10, 2009
10th January, 2009
JERUSALEM–Israeli dissidents, opposed to their country’s military offensive in Gaza, have run into a police crackdown on a scale not seen in nearly a decade, say human rights campaigners here.
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Posted by seumasach on January 10, 2009
10th January
BEIJING – CHINA’S special Middle East envoy will return to the region in the coming days to press for a halt to fighting in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, the Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.
The emissary, Sun Bigan, would visit Egypt, Gaza and Israel, spokesman Qin Gang said on the ministry’s website (www. fmprc.gov.cn).
Mr Qin expressed Beijing’s serious concern about the escalating conflict, which has defied international efforts to stop it.
China is a permanent member of the UN Security Council but has traditionally wielded relatively little clout in the Middle East. — REUTERS
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Posted by seumasach on January 10, 2009
10th January, 2009
A high-ranking UN human rights official calls for an independent investigation into possible war crimes committed by Israeli’s in Gaza.
Navi Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, on Friday called for the investigation. She specifically referred to the killing of 30 Palestinian civilians in a home in central Gaza that was shelled by Israeli forces.
“I am concerned with violations of international law. Incidents such as this must be investigated because they display elements of what could constitute war crimes,” Pillay, told Reuters.
“There is an international obligation on the part of soldiers in their position to protect civilians, not to kill civilians indiscriminately in the first place, and when they do to make sure that they help the wounded,” Pillay said. “In this particular case these children were helpless and the soldiers were close by,” she said.
Speaking earlier to a special session of the UN Human Rights Council held on the Gaza crisis, Pillay had said that Israel should be held accountable for any violations of international law.
Pillay continued by noting that a large number of people, including children, had been killed or wounded in “Israel’s totally unacceptable strikes” against clearly marked UN facilities sheltering Gaza civilians.
The UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1860 calling for an immediate cease-fire in the 14-day-old conflict and a withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza but Israel rejected the resolution and continued its offensive on Friday.
SM/HAR
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Posted by seumasach on January 10, 2009
10th January, 2009
At least 12 Israeli military forces have been reportedly killed in fierce clashes with Palestinian resistance forces in the Gaza Strip.
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Posted by seumasach on January 9, 2009
9th January, 2009
A Lebanese lawmaker holds sleeping cells working for Tel Aviv responsible for carrying out rocket attacks from southern Lebanon into Israel.
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Posted by seumasach on January 9, 2009
9th January, 2009
Russia has warned Israel that the continuation of its military operation in the Gaza Strip could spread beyond the coastal sliver.
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Posted by alfied on January 9, 2009
Israeli forces have targeted the office of Press TV and the Iranian Arab-language satellite channel al-Alam in the Gaza Strip.
There were two people wounded in the Israeli attack, a Press TV correspondent said Friday, adding that Press TV’s sister channel, Al-Alam, which was also based in the building has been affected by the attack. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted by seumasach on January 9, 2009
9th January
Hamas has announced that its al-Qassam grad rockets have hit a major Israeli airbase near Tel Aviv, which is believed to house nuclear arms
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Posted by seumasach on January 9, 2009
9th January, 2009
Sana’a/Amman – Demonstrators in their thousands took to streets in the Arab world following Friday prayers to show their support for the people of the Gaza Strip and denounce the nearly two- week Israeli military offensive there. Demonstrators in Doha, Baghdad and Amman carried Palestinian flags and chanted slogans in support of Gaza. Others decried the Egyptian government, accusing it of indirectly supporting Israel by keeping its border to the salient closed.
The largest demonstrations took place in Sana’a, the capital of Yemen, where eyewitness accounts say about 200,000 demonstrators took to the streets, calling for “Death to America and Israel” and saying that “Islam would win.”
In the southern port city of Aden, police had to fire warning shots and tear gas to disperse tens of thousands of protesters after they tried to access the diplomatic quarter.
In Amman, tens of thousands of demonstrators carried photos of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who expelled his country’s Israeli ambassador.
Demonstrators gathered near the Israeli embassy, but were prevented by security forces from reaching the building. They demanded that the Israeli ambassador be kicked out of Amman.
The Friday demonstrations were called by prominent Egyptian-born, but Qatar-based, Islamic scholar Youssef al-Qaradawi.
He called for Friday to be a “day of support for Gaza” and has urged imams around the Muslim world to deliver their Friday sermons on the Gaza situation.
Qaradawi delivered the Friday prayer sermon in one of Doha’s mosques in which he attacked US “double standards” and Washington’s “involvement in the Zionist scheme.”
Demonstrators then came out of the mosque onto the streets carrying Qatari and Palestinian flags and wearing the traditional Palestinian keffiyeh, or scarf.
In Baghdad, thousands of demonstrators marched in Baghdad and chanted slogans like “Where are the Arab leaders?” and carried placards reading “Gaza martyrs, you are going to heaven” and “The attack on Gaza is an attack on humanity.”
The demonstrators then gathered at the Muslim Youth Association, where speeches were delivered and songs sung in support of Gaza.
Police tried to stop protests by 100,000 people in the Egyptian city of Alexandria, but eventually decided to let the protest continue. Proteters decried Egyptian policy. In clashes in the Sinai peninsula city of El-Arish, eight demonstrators and multiple policemen were injured in clashes. More than a dozen demonstrators were arrested.
Also, about 3,000 people protested in Ramallah in the West Bank at the urging of Hamas. Protesters chanted “Hamas, Hamas,” but, unlike previous demonstrations, did not wave Hamas flags. The protest was dispersed by authorities after about half an hour.
Demonstrations also took place in Bahrain and support marches were expected in the United Arab Emirates.
Copyright, respective author or news agency
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Posted by seumasach on January 9, 2009
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BEIRUT, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) — Hamas said the only solution to the ongoing Gaza crisis would be Israeli retreat from Gaza, ceasing aggression and lifting the blockade, local Elnashra website reported Friday.
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In These New Times 