"December 19, 2007
Palestinian teen died on Wednesday due to the Israeli siege imposed on the Gaza Strip, Palestinian medical sources in the Gaza strip reported.
Dua' Omran, 18, was unable to leave Gaza to get medical treatment she needed to live due to the Israeli army closure of the strip.
The Israeli army had closed all entrances to and exits from the Gaza strip in late June shortly after Hamas took total control of the Gaza strip.
Despite of the withdrawal in September 2005, Israel still controls all entry and exit points of the Gaza Strip, and since the beginning of September 2007, all borders have been completely sealed, even for patients in dire need of medical treatment.
The Physicians for Human Rights, based in Israel, filed an appeal in the Israeli High Court several on October on behalf of eleven extremely ill Palestinian patients, in a bid to allow them to leave Gaza for lifesaving medical treatment.
Since then, four of the plaintiffs have been allowed to pass, three have died of their illnesses. On late November the High Court ruled that the four patients should receive permission to exit Gaza to receive treatment in either Israel, the West Bank or Egypt, and gave the Israeli government one week to respond.
The ruling was not final, merely a 'suggestion', coming after a two and half week delay during which two of the plaintiffs died. The army refused the case and the high court rolled out the case shortly after.
So far 42 Palestinians have died due to being prevented by Israel to leave Gaza for medical treatment, the youngest was Ibraheem Abu Nahal, one year and half old.
In earlier reports media sources in Gaza said that the army was demanding Palestinian Patients leaving Gaza to give up information about resistance leaders or they will not be allowed out of the coastal region."
www.uruknet.info?p=39356
Link: www.imemc.org/article/52041"
"Israeli Prime Minister: Airstrikes on Gaza will continue
"Wednesday December 19, 2007
Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Prime Minister, stated Tuesday that the Israeli airforce will continue dropping bombs on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, as long as Palestinian militants continue to fire homemade shells across the border into Israel.
Many Palestinians see Olmert's promise as rather disingenuous, as a truce arranged by Hamas and adhered to by all of the Palestinian resistance factions in Gaza last year did not result in any lessening of Israeli attacks. In fact, Israeli assaults and invasions into Gaza increased after Hamas declared the ceasefire.
The declaration by the Israeli Prime Minister came after a series of airstrikes that killed nine Palestinians on Monday and twelve on Tuesday. All of those killed were said to be members of resistance groups, but dozens of civilians were injured, some of them with severed limbs.
Ehud Olmert, in his statement:
"The terror organizations feel this and will feel this in full force in the near future."
But Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Tuesday morning that the airstrikes may have the opposite effect, spawning revenge attacks by the Palestinian resistance:
"We must be prepared for possible retaliation from the other side."
The Palestinian people in Gaza live under complete Israeli control of all borders, sea and air space. They have been imprisoned inside Gaza with no entry or exit allowed for anyone, even the severely ill, since June. Prior to that, restrictions were in place allowing very few people in or out. Israeli airstrikes often hit crowded streets and markets -- Gaza is one of the most crowded places on earth -- resulting in civilian casualties.
Israel's policy of extrajudicial assassinations is illegal under international law, and is a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, to which Israel is a signatory.
:: Article nr. 39348 sent on 19-dec-2007 05:49 ECT
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Link: www.imemc.org/article/52037"
"IOF Missile Strike Targets Bethlehem Manger, Killing at least 12
"by Huuretz Service and News Agencies
The Israel Occupation Forces killed at least 12 people on Monday in two separate incidents.
In the first incident, an Israel Air Force aircraft opened a missile strike on what they described was a terrorist cell, operating out of a manger near Bethlehem. The IOF spokesperson stated that although their intelligence was far from accurate, being obtained by a now deceased subject who mysteriously died while being interrogated, the IOF could take no chances on the victims being civilians.
Witnesses who lived in the area said that there was a couple with a child, staying at the manger. The couple had been driven out of their home by the IOF, in order for the Concrete Barrier Wall that Israel is constructing, to be built over their meager home.
Since there was no room in the overcrowded Palestinian refugee camp nearby, the couple had sought shelter in the manger.
They stated that the husband, who went by the name "Joseph" was not in the manger at the time of the missile strike. Joseph had been working at a carpenter shop in Occupied Palestine when the IOF missiles slammed into the manger.
The mother, known only as "Mary", was killed, along with her baby child. There were also three uncles from the East visiting the manger at the time of the strike and they were killed.
In another missile strike in the Bethlehem area, a group of shepherds tending their sheep in the hills were also targeted by the IOF and killed.
Residents in the area said they were not terrorists, as claimed by the IOF, but simple shepherds taking care of their sheep.
An IOF spokesperson said since Israel had deemed the sheep to be an "existential" threat, the shepherds and sheep were destroyed.
When asked about the wanton slaughter of Palestinian civilians, Israeli PM Olmert said, "No one knows the pain, the fear, and the uncertainty the Palestinians feel more than I do. This I can say with absolute certainty, since it was I who ordered the strikes." Olmert added: "Since Palestinians won't recognize the land we stole from them as being ours and as an exclusive Jewish state, then they have only themselves to blame for all of the misery, death and destruction we rain down upon Palestinians on a daily basis."
U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, contacted for comment on the IOF killing civilians, stated that she was worried that the IOF wouldn't have enough bombs and missiles to continue on with the Palestinian genocide:
"I plan on calling back Congress for a special session, in order to get their rubber stamp of approval on sending more munitions to our Israeli friends, to replace the ones used in the Bethlehem strike. Of course, this will be without any strings attached and they won't need to pay back the 300 million USD it's expected to cost the American taxpayer."
The White House stated that President Bush was at an AIPAC dinner, receiving an award for being a friend of Israel and was unavailable for comment. Secretary of State Condi Rice also was unavailable for comment, her spokesperson said as the Secretary was in New York, shopping for shoes."
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday ruled out dialogue with Hamas Islamists who control the Gaza Strip and vowed to press on with the army's "war" against militants firing cross-border rockets into Israel.
Olmert's closest confidant said Israel's strategic goal was to topple the Hamas government in the coastal territory through continued military and economic pressure.
Olmert, referring to stepped up Israeli attacks that have killed over 20 Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip in the past week, told government ministers:
"This war will continue."
Olmert appeared to play down prospects of a ceasefire deal with Hamas, which seized control of Gaza in June after routing forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Olmert, referring to the demands set out by the Quartet of Middle East mediators:
"The state of Israel has no interest in holding negotiations with those that refuse to accept the basic principles of the Quartet. This applies to Hamas, Islamic Jihad and anyone else. He who accepts the Quartet principles is a partner in talks, but he who is not ready to accept them, he is no partner and our policy will not change."
Hamas has brushed aside demands by the Quartet, composed of the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations, that it recognize Israel, renounce violence and abide by interim peace agreements. Hamas did not rule out a future ceasefire if Israel first stopped attacks on the Gaza Strip.
Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri:
"If the occupation commits itself to stopping all forms of aggression against our people, only then the factions may discuss this issue. But until then, there is no discussion among the factions over a calm."
Vice Premier Haim Ramon, when asked on Israel Radio whether Israel was seeking to "topple" Hamas:
"Yes. We are fighting Hamas and are seeking to weaken its control of Gaza, and bring about the end of its rein there. Hamas should hand over control of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority, [referring to Abbas's West Bank-based government]."
Hamas leaders have offered a long-term truce with Israel in return for a viable Palestinian state in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The Islamist group continues to say it will not formally recognize Israel and its 1988 founding charter calls for the destruction of the Jewish state."
Israel plans 740 new homes on occupied land
"JERUSALEM, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Israel plans to build about 740 new homes next year on occupied land near Jerusalem, the construction ministry said on Sunday, despite Palestinian calls for a total settlement freeze.
The issue of Israeli settlement building in the Jerusalem area has clouded negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians launched at a peace conference last month in Annapolis, Maryland. The first round of talks following Annapolis opened in discord earlier this month after Palestinians demanded Israel drop plans to build some 300 new homes in an area near Jerusalem known to Israelis as Har Homa and to Palestinians as Abu Ghneim.
The 740 new homes are included in the construction ministry's budget for 2008, officials at the ministry said. The new homes include 500 at Har Homa and 240 at the Maale Adumim settlement near Jerusalem. Israel hopes to keep Maale Adumim and other large settlement blocs in any final peace deal.
Israel annexed Arab East Jerusalem during a 1967 Middle East War, a move not recognised internationally. Israeli officials defended the new construction plans, which the Palestinians say jeopardise negotiations set to resume on Monday.
Minister of Jerusalem Affairs Rafi Eitan on Army Radio:
"Har Homa is an integral part of Jerusalem and Israel will not stop building there," said . "It is Israel's duty to provide its citizens with a place to live."
A 2003 "road map" peace plan calls for Israel to halt all settlement activity, including so-called natural growth, and for the Palestinians to rein in militants. Israeli officials said they would allow construction within built up areas of existing settlements.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qurei said on Friday the Jewish state must halt all settlement building before final status talks can continue in earnest."
"December 23, 2007
Don't let the quiet fool you: It is imaginary. While all eyes are on Gaza, the impression has been created, under the aegis of a media turning a blind eye, that the West Bank is quiet. That's where the "good guys" are in charge, those with whom we went to Annapolis, those who will be getting the money from the donor nations, and life there is great, so it seems.
Well, that is not the case. The lives of the Palestinians in the West Bank are also intolerable, blood is being shed there too. For the Israel Defense Forces it is business as usual, with a frighteningly quick finger on the trigger. The spirit of Annapolis and the lofty words of the prime minister do not prevail there.
I have visited quite a few mourners' homes in the West Bank in recent months. They were all mourning family members who had been killed for no reason. Every week, innocent people are killed in the West Bank, and nobody talks about them. Among the dozens of Palestinians killed recently, not all were Qassam launchers or gang leaders from Gaza. If a new uprising erupts in the West Bank one day, it will originate in these mourners' homes.
The daily routine in the West Bank is also patently inhumane. The night I spent last summer in the Jenin refugee camp brought that home to me: The IDF enters the camp every night, and even when it does not kill, it strikes great terror in the hearts of thousands of families, who are the victims of anxiety. There are few Israelis who can imagine the daily routine of West Bank residents, during the day and even more so at night. And we have not said a word about the poverty, the roadblocks and the home demolitions.
The story of the recent killings in the West Bank is not on our agenda, because so far the Palestinians there have not responded with attacks in retaliation for these deaths. But it is not certain that this quiet will continue.
Adib Salim, paralyzed on his right side, sold lupini beans. When the IDF conducted one of its raids on Nablus he dared to stick his head out. The soldiers killed him. The IDF Spokesman claimed that he threatened to shoot at the soldiers, but the paralyzed bean seller was totally incapable of doing so.
Abdel Wazir, the 71-year-old cousin of the legendary Abu Jihad, was a retired accountant. He spent a terrifying night in his home: for hours the soldiers fired next to his window, while he sat with his wife on the sofa, both of them incapacitated by fear. When the order to go outside was heard, he left his house and was immediately shot dead.
Jihad Shaar, 19, was making his way from his village, Tekua, in order to register for university. Soldiers killed him for an unexplained reason with cudgel blows and kicks, while he was waiting at the bus stop. The IDF Spokesman said that the soldiers "behaved appropriately."
Mohammed Salah was a Palestinian policeman, after years of working as a tiler in the settlements. On duty, he stopped a suspicious Palestinian commercial van, which had tried to avoid the Palestinian checkpoint in Bethlehem. Salah opened the door, suspecting that the van was carrying stolen merchandise, and the IDF undercover soldiers inside shot him to death. The IDF Spokesman claimed that he tried to shoot at the soldiers, but all the eyewitnesses have rejected this version out of hand.
Firas Kaskas went for a nature hike near Ramallah, accompanied by his brother and his brother-in-law. When they noticed a herd of gazelles running down to the wadi, they stood to watch. The soldiers who suddenly appeared shot him from afar, without warning. The IDF Spokesman claimed that the soldiers thought that he was placing an explosive device in the heart of the nature reserve.
All these people were killed by the IDF in recent weeks, for no reason. Add to them Mohammed Askar from Saida, who was shot at close range during riots at Ketziot Prison; Kamela Kabha of Bartaa, an elderly woman whose son tried to rush her to the hospital in Jenin and was delayed at the Reihan checkpoint for three hours, until she died in his arms, and other incidents of killing, and you will get the true picture of Israel's "peace efforts."
And we haven't even mentioned the construction in the settlements.
Link: www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/937524.html"
48 patients die so far as a result of being denied access to treatment abroad
Palestinian Information Center
 |
December 23, 2007 |
:: Article nr. 39494 sent on 24-dec-2007 03:02 ECT
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Link: www.palestine-info.co.uk/en/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s
7LVkZHe%2bzboyKnXoqBg1vMPz4N1i3dwMeBb82%2f62NQmFYx0vRT6fRBh637sJ1
EJ%2fjKRcXSHqCZcXvpI3eoUZpOrlZpEZVgH%2bvDDvMBKaeVAY%3d"
Jews 'losing faith' in Zionism mirage; Jewish immi...
"Related
Poll: One-third of Israeli youth want to live abroad
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Mon, 24 Dec 2007 05:57:27
Jews 'losing faith' in Zionism mirage
A survey at the behest of the Israeli Zionism Institute indicates that one-third of the Israeli youth are interested in living abroad.
The poll, conducted among 400 Israeli adolescents between the ages of 14 and 18, was carried out ahead of the National Zionist Youth Congress on Monday.
It found that 35% of the Israeli youth would be interested in moving abroad if they had the opportunity.
As far as politics was concerned, only 11% said they trusted the political leadership of the Zionist regime compared with 34% who said they had some confidence and 54% who answered they had no faith at all.
Forty-one percent remarked that the Israeli government is more corrupt than governments abroad and 18% said it is less corrupt. A third answered that there is no difference.
Mon Dec 24, 3:28 AM ET
Jewish immigration to Israel continued to slide in 2007 with the number of newcomers at just 19,700, the lowest level in 20 years, according to figures published on Monday.
Immigration was down six percent from 2006, the immigrant absorption ministry said.
The number of immigrants from former Soviet countries, which made up 30 percent of all newcomers, dropped 15 percent from 2006.
Zeev Bielsky, the head of the Jewish Agency in charge of bringing in immigrants to the Jewish state, expressed concern over the falling numbers.
Diaspora Jews today "have fewer reasons to leave their countries of origin" as Israel has become "less attractive as a land of immigration," he told army radio.
Numbers from former Soviet countries have declined because the economic situation in Russia has improved and Jewish communities there are flourishing, he added.
Immigration from France has also fallen following the election as president of Nicolas Sarkozy, whose "popularity in the Jewish community gives it a better sense of security." One of Sarkozy's grandparents was Jewish.
Israel's Law of Return allows anyone who is Jewish or has a Jewish spouse, a Jewish parent or a Jewish grandparent, to obtain Israeli citizenship."
Former US Intelligence official: Israel will attack Iran
Bruce Riedel, a former career CIA official and senior adviser to three US presidents - including George W. Bush - on Middle East and South Asian issues, told Newsweek Thursday, citing conversations he had with Mossad and Israeli defense officials, and in which the American magazine quoted Riedel as saying in an article titled, "What will Israel do?":
"I came back from a trip to Israel in November convinced that Israel would attack Iran. And that was before the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE). This makes it even more likely. Israel is not going to allow its nuclear monopoly to be threatened."
The magazine quoted Knesset Member Ephraim Sneh, a former deputy defense minister who has "warned for years that Israel would eventually have to confront Iran alone," as saying:
"Today we are closer to this situation than we were three weeks ago ... we have to be prepared to forestall this threat on our own."
David Albright of the Institute for Science and International Security in Washington told Newsweek that Israel was likely encouraged by the non-reaction to their September air strike on a reported Syrian nuclear facility:
"Israel has gotten away with it in a sense, which may have been a test run for Iran, or at least a warning directed at Tehran. [Any Israeli pre-emptive action might not be a] traditional strike [but could involve more] sabotage of equipment."
"The Bush trip is, in part, an implicit concession to US hawks that the NIE went too far in absolving Iran. It is also a conscious effort to reassure both Israel and the Arab states that Washington will stand up to Iran's increasing intrusiveness and hegemonic tendencies."
Israel preparing public for war
"Israel's Home Front Command is preparing the public for possible war scenarios.
The Home Front Command on Sunday launched a public information campaign, during which every Israeli household will receive a manual titled "Being Protected and Prepared." The manual, which is available in several languages, instructs the public on subjects such as the type of rockets that might be fired at Israel during a future war and where to seek shelter.
Home Front Command personnel have also been collecting the gas masks issued to the public during the 2003 Gulf war, with a view to issuing new and more advanced kits in the near future.
Despite recent tensions with Syria and Iran, Israeli officials have denied that the Home Front Command's actions have anything to do with concerns that a conflict could be imminent. They say the state is implementing one of the lessons of last year's Lebanon war, when many residents of northern Israel were caught unprepared for Hezbollah rocket salvoes."
'Israel could survive nuclear war'
ELIE LESHEM
Jerusalem Post
Monday, December 24, 2007
If a nuclear war between Israel and Iran were to break out 16-20 million Iranians would lose their lives - as opposed to 200,000-800,000 Israelis, according to a report recently published by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), which is headed by Anthony H. Cordesman, formerly an analyst for the US Department of Defense. The document, which is largely theoretical due to the lack of verified knowledge in some areas - specifically in terms of Israel's nuclear capability - paints various scenarios and attempts to predict the strategies of regional powers, as well as the US.
The report assesses that a nuclear war would last approximately three weeks and ultimately end with the annihilation of Iran, due to Israel's alleged possession of weapons with a far larger yield. Israel, according to the assessment, would have a larger chance of survival. The report does not attempt to predict how many deaths would eventually be caused by possible nuclear fallout.
Even if Iran gained the means and knowledge to create nuclear weapons, according to the report it would still be limited to 100 kiloton weapons, which can cause a far smaller radius of destruction than the 1 megaton bombs Israel allegedly possesses.
Possible targets for an Iranian strike are the Tel Aviv metropolitan area and Haifa bay, while the list of possible targets in Iran includes the cities Teheran, Tabriz, Qazvin, Esfahan, Shiraz, Yazd, Kerman, Qom, Ahwaz and Kermanshah.
The report cites Israel's Arrow missile defense system as an obstacle facing a possible Iranian strike and says that it could shoot down most of the missiles. Israel, on the other hand, would be capable of hitting most of the Iranian cities with pinpoint accuracy due to the high resolution satellite imagery systems at its disposal.
FULL STORY: CLICK HEREPrinted from: http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/december2007/241207_war.htm
"Defense Minister Ehud Barak vowed Israel will win the next war it is forced to fight during a military ceremony on Monday.
During the ceremony, Barak officially gave the Second Lebanon War pin to IDF general staff, including Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, as well as former Chief of General Staff Dan Halutz:
"If another war suddenly breaks out, we expect that it will end in victory, with the minimum amount of casualties, and minimum injury to the citizenry. This war was not just an IDF war. This was a war for fighters who saw action up close, and for those who weren't in the line of fire, [like] the million and a half citizens who were in the range of missiles."
Ashkenazi, speaking during the ceremony, said that soldiers should wear the Second Lebanon War pin with pride:
"I am happy to wear the pin. We sent our forces to conduct an operation, and in most places they did it well. The Israeli people are happy about these achievements, even though we paid a price, 119 soldiers killed. This is an honorable pin, and a salute to the families of the slain and injured."
Disgusting!
Especially since Halutz had to resign because of the cluster bombs in Lebanon.
As for the "next" war, ass long as it is YOUR FUCKING WAR, NaZionist, and NOT AMERICA'S!!!!!!!!!
We ain't going to war for you no more!!!!!!!!!
