Friday, August 31, 2007
Iraq's Shiite prime minister said Friday hard-line Sunni clerics outside Iraq share the blame for this week's bloodshed
BAGHDAD - Iraq's Shiite prime minister said Friday hard-line Sunni clerics outside Iraq share the blame for this week's bloodshed at a Shiite religious festival in Karbala because they issued religious decrees terming Shiites heretics. HELSINKI, Finland - Representatives of feuding Sunni and Shiite groups in Iraq were meeting at a seminar behind closed doors Friday to discuss ways of ending the bloodshed, conference organizers said.
King Abdullah II of Jordan urged the Palestinians on Friday to close ranks and let "reason prevail"
AMMAN (AFP) - King Abdullah II of Jordan urged the Palestinians on Friday to close ranks and let "reason prevail" in order to benefit from an international Middle East peace conference later this year. The peace conference called by US President George W. Bush could take place in November after the Jewish and Muslim high holidays, according to some Palestinian officials. "Our Palestinian brothers should benefit from this opportunity to unify their efforts and stances," King Abdullah told Jordanian television. "The separation of Gaza from the West Bank is unacceptable at both the Palestinian and Arab levels," he said.
"Our Palestinian brothers should benefit from this opportunity to unify their efforts and stances," King Abdullah told Jordanian television. "The separation of Gaza from the West Bank is unacceptable at both the Palestinian and Arab levels," he said. When we talk about a Palestinian state, we mean a state that is established on Palestinian lands in Gaza and the West Bank," Abdullah said. "So we call upon all our Palestinian brothers to let sound judgment and reason prevail, and to unify their ranks to surmount their suffering and realise their legitimate national goals and ambitions," he said. Abdullah said Palestinian history was littered with missed opportunities.
"Since the reign of my great grandfather, there have been several initiatives to find a solution to the conflict in Palestine," he said. "Had the political forces in the Arab-Islamic world and the international community accepted these initiatives, things would not be as they are today. "It is time to translate the efforts that have been exerted into real actions on the ground," he said.
"Our Palestinian brothers should benefit from this opportunity to unify their efforts and stances," King Abdullah told Jordanian television. "The separation of Gaza from the West Bank is unacceptable at both the Palestinian and Arab levels," he said. When we talk about a Palestinian state, we mean a state that is established on Palestinian lands in Gaza and the West Bank," Abdullah said. "So we call upon all our Palestinian brothers to let sound judgment and reason prevail, and to unify their ranks to surmount their suffering and realise their legitimate national goals and ambitions," he said. Abdullah said Palestinian history was littered with missed opportunities.
"Since the reign of my great grandfather, there have been several initiatives to find a solution to the conflict in Palestine," he said. "Had the political forces in the Arab-Islamic world and the international community accepted these initiatives, things would not be as they are today. "It is time to translate the efforts that have been exerted into real actions on the ground," he said.
"10 years of blessings"..
Palestinian Fatah supporters hold candles during a public rally denouncing the Hamas' takeover and violence in Gaza strip, in front of the Nativity Church in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, Sunday, Sept. 2, 2007.
Solving conflicts..
GAZA CITY, Gaza City - A protest of Hamas rule by Fatah supporters turned violent Friday when Hamas men began forcefully dispersing the crowd, firing in the air and beating demonstrators and reporters.
Three people were wounded, according to Dr. Muawiya Hassanin of the Palestinian Health Ministry. It was not immediately clear if they were protesters or police, and Hassanin did not specify the nature of their injuries.Associated Press reporters saw the beating of one journalist by Hamas men. He was not seriously hurt. The violence began at the end of a Fatah prayer meeting held to protest Hamas, which seized control of the coastal territory in June. A similar protest a week ago also ended in clashes and harassment of journalists. After the Fatah supporters finished prayers, Hamas men began firing into the air to disperse the crowd. The Hamas security forces then began arresting protesters and taking them away in jeeps, and also beat several demonstrators. AP Television News video showed several uniformed Hamas men beating an unarmed protester with long sticks. Hamas supporters in civilian clothes also joined the uniformed forces in dispersing the protest.
A preacher at the Gaza City rally urged worshippers to put aside factional differences and unite against Israel. "Mosques should be independent of armed difference and dispute," cleric Rushdi al-Zayan told the crowd. "We are one people and our enemy is one. We should unite against our enemy."
Three people were wounded, according to Dr. Muawiya Hassanin of the Palestinian Health Ministry. It was not immediately clear if they were protesters or police, and Hassanin did not specify the nature of their injuries.Associated Press reporters saw the beating of one journalist by Hamas men. He was not seriously hurt. The violence began at the end of a Fatah prayer meeting held to protest Hamas, which seized control of the coastal territory in June. A similar protest a week ago also ended in clashes and harassment of journalists. After the Fatah supporters finished prayers, Hamas men began firing into the air to disperse the crowd. The Hamas security forces then began arresting protesters and taking them away in jeeps, and also beat several demonstrators. AP Television News video showed several uniformed Hamas men beating an unarmed protester with long sticks. Hamas supporters in civilian clothes also joined the uniformed forces in dispersing the protest.
A preacher at the Gaza City rally urged worshippers to put aside factional differences and unite against Israel. "Mosques should be independent of armed difference and dispute," cleric Rushdi al-Zayan told the crowd. "We are one people and our enemy is one. We should unite against our enemy."
Israeli archaeologist Zachi Zweig said a tractor used to dig the trench damaged the foundation of a 7-yard-wide wall
JERUSALEM - Israeli archaeologists charged on Thursday that digging overseen by Islamic religious leaders at a hotly disputed Jerusalem holy site damaged a wall that might date back to the Bible.
Islamic authorities responsible for Haram as-Sharif, known to Jews as Temple Mount, said digging a trench was necessary to replace 40-year-old electrical cables. They called the Israeli group's charges "sheer propaganda." The hilltop compound is a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Home to the silver-domed Al Aqsa Mosque and gold-capped Dome of the Rock, it is Islam's third-holiest shrine. Jews revere it as the location of the two biblical Jewish temples, making it the holiest site in Judaism. Disagreements over who should control the holy site have helped scuttle past Mideast peace talks.
On Thursday, Israeli archaeologist Zachi Zweig said a tractor used to dig the trench damaged the foundation of a 7-yard-wide wall "that might have been a remnant of the Second Temple."
Zweig said his group, the Public Committee Against the Destruction of Antiquities on the Temple Mount, drew that conclusion because of the location of the damaged foundation.
"We saw the damage for ourselves and documented it," he said.
The Second Temple was built by Cyrus the Great of Persia in 515 B.C. and destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D. The tractor dug a trench that was 4 feet deep, Zweig said. "The bedrock at this location is very shallow, so there is a high probability that ancient remnants were damaged," he added. The top Muslim cleric in Jerusalem, Mufti Mohammed Hussein, rejected the Israeli group's charges. "We don't harm the antiquities, we are the ones who are taking care of the antiquities, unlike others who destroy them," the mufti said. Zweig said the Israel Antiquities Authority supervisor who was assigned to oversee the cable replacement was a novice archaeologist. "The oversight was a joke," he said. The authority had no comment.
Digging for the cable was completed on Wednesday, the Muslim Religious Council said. Israel captured the hilltop compound from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast war. Israel has left its daily administration to Islamic authorities and barred Jews from praying there out of respect for Muslim sensitivities. But Palestinians insist on sovereignty there, rejecting any Israeli or Jewish link to the site.
Disputes over construction projects there have erupted in violence several times since Israel captured it from Jordan. Earlier this year, an Israeli archaeological dig just outside the disputed site led to widespread Muslim protests. Israel said it was planning to replace a shaky access ramp, but Muslims charged the Israelis were damaging the site.
By AMY TEIBEL, AP
Islamic authorities responsible for Haram as-Sharif, known to Jews as Temple Mount, said digging a trench was necessary to replace 40-year-old electrical cables. They called the Israeli group's charges "sheer propaganda." The hilltop compound is a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Home to the silver-domed Al Aqsa Mosque and gold-capped Dome of the Rock, it is Islam's third-holiest shrine. Jews revere it as the location of the two biblical Jewish temples, making it the holiest site in Judaism. Disagreements over who should control the holy site have helped scuttle past Mideast peace talks.
On Thursday, Israeli archaeologist Zachi Zweig said a tractor used to dig the trench damaged the foundation of a 7-yard-wide wall "that might have been a remnant of the Second Temple."
Zweig said his group, the Public Committee Against the Destruction of Antiquities on the Temple Mount, drew that conclusion because of the location of the damaged foundation.
"We saw the damage for ourselves and documented it," he said.
The Second Temple was built by Cyrus the Great of Persia in 515 B.C. and destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D. The tractor dug a trench that was 4 feet deep, Zweig said. "The bedrock at this location is very shallow, so there is a high probability that ancient remnants were damaged," he added. The top Muslim cleric in Jerusalem, Mufti Mohammed Hussein, rejected the Israeli group's charges. "We don't harm the antiquities, we are the ones who are taking care of the antiquities, unlike others who destroy them," the mufti said. Zweig said the Israel Antiquities Authority supervisor who was assigned to oversee the cable replacement was a novice archaeologist. "The oversight was a joke," he said. The authority had no comment.
Digging for the cable was completed on Wednesday, the Muslim Religious Council said. Israel captured the hilltop compound from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast war. Israel has left its daily administration to Islamic authorities and barred Jews from praying there out of respect for Muslim sensitivities. But Palestinians insist on sovereignty there, rejecting any Israeli or Jewish link to the site.
Disputes over construction projects there have erupted in violence several times since Israel captured it from Jordan. Earlier this year, an Israeli archaeological dig just outside the disputed site led to widespread Muslim protests. Israel said it was planning to replace a shaky access ramp, but Muslims charged the Israelis were damaging the site.
By AMY TEIBEL, AP
Thursday, August 30, 2007
"More than 13 months after their abductions, we still cannot establish proof of life."
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. member nations should insist that Lebanon's Hezbollah group produce evidence that the two Israeli soldiers it abducted a year ago are still alive, a senior U.N. envoy said on Wednesday. Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev were seized by Hezbollah militants in a July 12, 2006 raid across the Israeli border. This sparked the 34-day Israeli-Hezbollah conflict that killed 1,200 Lebanese and 160 Israelis. Michael Williams, the U.N. envoy for the Middle East peace process, who is leaving his post, told the U.N. Security Council that his last conversation in the region was with Goldwasser's wife, Karnit.
"And I have to say with deep regret personally -- because I have made very considerable efforts in this regard -- that more than 13 months after their abductions, we still cannot establish proof of life. "I don't even say release and repatriation of the prisoners. I say proof of life," said Williams, who is joining the British foreign service as its Middle East envoy. He said nations with ties to Hezbollah should "urge the group to meet the basic humanitarian standards -- that proof of life of prisoners should always be presented."
Williams was speaking during the Security Council's monthly Middle East debate in which 35 countries participated. He conveyed an Israeli offer for a prisoner exchange, which Hezbollah has rejected after some 20 meetings. The group has said that Israel must first free Lebanese prisoners and possibly others held in its jails. An internal Israeli probe concluded the two soldiers were seriously wounded during their capture and at least one of them could now be dead.
"And I have to say with deep regret personally -- because I have made very considerable efforts in this regard -- that more than 13 months after their abductions, we still cannot establish proof of life. "I don't even say release and repatriation of the prisoners. I say proof of life," said Williams, who is joining the British foreign service as its Middle East envoy. He said nations with ties to Hezbollah should "urge the group to meet the basic humanitarian standards -- that proof of life of prisoners should always be presented."
Williams was speaking during the Security Council's monthly Middle East debate in which 35 countries participated. He conveyed an Israeli offer for a prisoner exchange, which Hezbollah has rejected after some 20 meetings. The group has said that Israel must first free Lebanese prisoners and possibly others held in its jails. An internal Israeli probe concluded the two soldiers were seriously wounded during their capture and at least one of them could now be dead.
International Mideast mediators will meet with key Arab nations next month to promote new efforts to revive the Arab-Israeli peace process,
UNITED NATIONS - International Mideast mediators will meet with key Arab nations next month to promote new efforts to revive the Arab-Israeli peace process, the U.N.'s top envoy to the region said Wednesday.
Michael Williams, the U.N. special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, told the Security Council the Sept. 23 meeting will be "an important moment" to take stock of Palestinian-Israeli discussions and prepare for a U.S.-sponsored international peace conference in November. The "substantive dialogue" developing in recent meetings between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the reform efforts of Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad "have created growing expectations," he said. "We cannot afford a new failure in the efforts to revive the Arab-Israeli peace process," Williams said. "There is a hope now which has been absent for almost seven years. A setback at this stage could have serious consequences." U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will host the Sept. 23 meeting of top officials from the "Quartet" of Mideast negotiators — the United Nations, the United States, the European Union and Russia — at U.N. headquarters, he said. That night, Quartet members will host a dinner for members of the Arab League committee that has been promoting a pan-Arab plan for peace with Israel. The Egyptian and Jordanian foreign ministers made a historic trip to Israel in late July to present the plan, saying it offers the country "security, recognition and acceptance" by its Middle East neighbors.
A U.N. official said other likely participants are Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Syria. Williams said representatives of the Palestinian donors group known as the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee will also meet on Sept. 24 at U.N. headquarters. The gathering will include participants from the United States, the European Union, Canada, Russia and several Arab states, as well as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. "We hope that this meeting will reconfirm the international community's strong support for the Palestinian Authority government's program," he said. "The meeting will also be a key stepping stone towards a donor-pledging conference planned for December."
Williams said former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the new Middle East envoy for the Quartet, would participate in both meetings. Blair has been tasked by the negotiators to prepare the foundations for a stable, economically strong West Bank government that could lead the Palestinians into statehood, but to leave the hard political issues at the core of the Arab-Israeli conflict alone. Israel says political questions can only be resolved in direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. On Tuesday, Olmert and Abbas tackled the core issues that have tormented Mideast peacemakers for decades — Palestinian refugees, final borders and the fate of Jerusalem.
We do like to see cooperation to establish a functioning society in Gaza, with representatives and a political process there as well. Gaza do need to functioning with the communities in the West Bank.
We are fed up with getting rockets for answers and this "two-way-game" with double messages! We do not tolerate it! We will not put us in the same position again, trying to talk with people that gives us rockets for answers and works against the internationally community and solutions at the same time they scream of their rights and urge the internationally community to be engaged!
Make it work between the West Bank and Gaza without any conditions towards this or that! Establish some organizational community functions with representatives. Representatives and cooperation between people in Gaza! Representatives from Fatah in Gaza that can start work with Fatah in the West Bank to make the farmers get access again! Stop firing rockets to open up the door between the Gaza citizens to the internationally community! Stop firing rockets against women, children and minors, in exchange of women, children, minors and a video tape!
Stop expose your children in your own conflicts and stop violating the Geneva convention of children's rights in your propaganda, broadcasting child programs to destroy your children, use them as tool to work against their rights to live in peace with their neighbours and the rest of the world!
Stop abusing and using your children in some jihad-fabrics and some made up fantasy-jihad-to-hell!
Michael Williams, the U.N. special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, told the Security Council the Sept. 23 meeting will be "an important moment" to take stock of Palestinian-Israeli discussions and prepare for a U.S.-sponsored international peace conference in November. The "substantive dialogue" developing in recent meetings between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the reform efforts of Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad "have created growing expectations," he said. "We cannot afford a new failure in the efforts to revive the Arab-Israeli peace process," Williams said. "There is a hope now which has been absent for almost seven years. A setback at this stage could have serious consequences." U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will host the Sept. 23 meeting of top officials from the "Quartet" of Mideast negotiators — the United Nations, the United States, the European Union and Russia — at U.N. headquarters, he said. That night, Quartet members will host a dinner for members of the Arab League committee that has been promoting a pan-Arab plan for peace with Israel. The Egyptian and Jordanian foreign ministers made a historic trip to Israel in late July to present the plan, saying it offers the country "security, recognition and acceptance" by its Middle East neighbors.
A U.N. official said other likely participants are Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Syria. Williams said representatives of the Palestinian donors group known as the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee will also meet on Sept. 24 at U.N. headquarters. The gathering will include participants from the United States, the European Union, Canada, Russia and several Arab states, as well as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. "We hope that this meeting will reconfirm the international community's strong support for the Palestinian Authority government's program," he said. "The meeting will also be a key stepping stone towards a donor-pledging conference planned for December."
Williams said former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the new Middle East envoy for the Quartet, would participate in both meetings. Blair has been tasked by the negotiators to prepare the foundations for a stable, economically strong West Bank government that could lead the Palestinians into statehood, but to leave the hard political issues at the core of the Arab-Israeli conflict alone. Israel says political questions can only be resolved in direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. On Tuesday, Olmert and Abbas tackled the core issues that have tormented Mideast peacemakers for decades — Palestinian refugees, final borders and the fate of Jerusalem.
We do like to see cooperation to establish a functioning society in Gaza, with representatives and a political process there as well. Gaza do need to functioning with the communities in the West Bank.
We are fed up with getting rockets for answers and this "two-way-game" with double messages! We do not tolerate it! We will not put us in the same position again, trying to talk with people that gives us rockets for answers and works against the internationally community and solutions at the same time they scream of their rights and urge the internationally community to be engaged!
Make it work between the West Bank and Gaza without any conditions towards this or that! Establish some organizational community functions with representatives. Representatives and cooperation between people in Gaza! Representatives from Fatah in Gaza that can start work with Fatah in the West Bank to make the farmers get access again! Stop firing rockets to open up the door between the Gaza citizens to the internationally community! Stop firing rockets against women, children and minors, in exchange of women, children, minors and a video tape!
Stop expose your children in your own conflicts and stop violating the Geneva convention of children's rights in your propaganda, broadcasting child programs to destroy your children, use them as tool to work against their rights to live in peace with their neighbours and the rest of the world!
Stop abusing and using your children in some jihad-fabrics and some made up fantasy-jihad-to-hell!
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Israeli and Palestinian teenagers, meeting in Finland
HELSINKI (AFP) - Israeli and Palestinian teenagers, meeting in Finland, put their names Wednesday to their own blueprint for Middle East peace, one that envisions two separate states and the eradication of terrorism.
Inspired by the international diplomatic roadmap that calls for a sovereign Palestinian state alongside Israel, the youngsters' proposals are to be sent to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas. The six Israelis and six Palestinians, aged 14 through 16, who hail from Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Ramallah, spent a week laying out their five-point document.
"We believe in peace which will be achieved through the two-state solution... stopping the violence, and eradicating the terror organizations, and economic cooperation as a tool for mutual understanding," they said in a statement. They added: "Education as an important tool in the peace process and the growth of a new generation of peace supporters." The young Israelis and Palestinians had come to the Finnish capital for a "children's parliament" with the sponsorship of the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority.
Amos Atzmon, 16, from Jerusalem, told AFP: "My parents are very open-minded. When I was younger, they kept telling me: 'If you do not like it, change it'. That's what I'm doing here." Christina Yousef, 14, from Ramallah, said: "My opinion towards Israelis has changed. I realized their thoughts are the same as ours". Israel's ambassador to Finland, Shemi Tzur, and the Palestinian delegate to the Nordic nation, Nabil Al-Wazir, were on hand for Wednesday's signing ceremony.
Inspired by the international diplomatic roadmap that calls for a sovereign Palestinian state alongside Israel, the youngsters' proposals are to be sent to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas. The six Israelis and six Palestinians, aged 14 through 16, who hail from Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Ramallah, spent a week laying out their five-point document.
"We believe in peace which will be achieved through the two-state solution... stopping the violence, and eradicating the terror organizations, and economic cooperation as a tool for mutual understanding," they said in a statement. They added: "Education as an important tool in the peace process and the growth of a new generation of peace supporters." The young Israelis and Palestinians had come to the Finnish capital for a "children's parliament" with the sponsorship of the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority.
Amos Atzmon, 16, from Jerusalem, told AFP: "My parents are very open-minded. When I was younger, they kept telling me: 'If you do not like it, change it'. That's what I'm doing here." Christina Yousef, 14, from Ramallah, said: "My opinion towards Israelis has changed. I realized their thoughts are the same as ours". Israel's ambassador to Finland, Shemi Tzur, and the Palestinian delegate to the Nordic nation, Nabil Al-Wazir, were on hand for Wednesday's signing ceremony.
Israeli archaeologists on Wednesday criticized the extension of an underground cable
JERUSALEM - Israeli archaeologists on Wednesday criticized the extension of an underground cable at Jerusalem's holiest site for Muslims and Jews, saying that digging the trench defies professional standards for such a sensitive historic site and could damage Bible-era relics. Islamic authorities responsible for the Al Aqsa Mosque complex, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, said the digging is necessary infrastructure work at the site to replace 40-year-old electrical cables ahead of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. The site is at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is home to Al Aqsa Mosque and the gold-capped Dome of the Rock, Islam's third-holiest shrine. It is also the holiest site in Judaism: Archaeological finds show that the remains of the temples are beneath the mosque compound, although Muslim clerics dispute that.
The Public Committee Against the Destruction of Antiquities on the Temple Mount, a group of Israeli archaeologists, said using a tractor to dig a trench — said to be 500 yards long and up to 5 feet deep — is "not archaeology but destruction." Eilat Mazar, a member of the committee, said the infrastructure work using heavy machinery and with little documentation can damage ancient relics and erase evidence of the presence of the biblical structures. Mazar said any excavation, even if for technical reasons, must be documented, photographed and the dirt sifted for any remains of relics. Yusuf Natsheh, an antiquities official in the Waqf, the Muslim authority responsible for the site, said the criticism by the Israeli group was "politically motivated," and the area would not be damaged by the tractor. "We don't hide anything," he said, adding that anyone can see what the digging has unearthed. "These are all assumptions with no evidence, and lack scientific considerations."
The Israeli Antiquities Authority had no comment. The digging for the new cable, carried out by the Jerusalem Electricity Co., was completed Wednesday, Natsheh said, and a team of antiquities engineers oversaw the work. He said only the laying of the cable and filling the trench remain. Archaeological digs earlier this year by Israeli authorities next to the holy site sparked protests by Muslims. The Israelis said they were excavating outside the mosque site before improving an entry ramp.
By SARAH EL DEEB, AP
The Public Committee Against the Destruction of Antiquities on the Temple Mount, a group of Israeli archaeologists, said using a tractor to dig a trench — said to be 500 yards long and up to 5 feet deep — is "not archaeology but destruction." Eilat Mazar, a member of the committee, said the infrastructure work using heavy machinery and with little documentation can damage ancient relics and erase evidence of the presence of the biblical structures. Mazar said any excavation, even if for technical reasons, must be documented, photographed and the dirt sifted for any remains of relics. Yusuf Natsheh, an antiquities official in the Waqf, the Muslim authority responsible for the site, said the criticism by the Israeli group was "politically motivated," and the area would not be damaged by the tractor. "We don't hide anything," he said, adding that anyone can see what the digging has unearthed. "These are all assumptions with no evidence, and lack scientific considerations."
The Israeli Antiquities Authority had no comment. The digging for the new cable, carried out by the Jerusalem Electricity Co., was completed Wednesday, Natsheh said, and a team of antiquities engineers oversaw the work. He said only the laying of the cable and filling the trench remain. Archaeological digs earlier this year by Israeli authorities next to the holy site sparked protests by Muslims. The Israelis said they were excavating outside the mosque site before improving an entry ramp.
By SARAH EL DEEB, AP
Two Palestinian children were killed and a third was critically wounded
BEIT HANOUN, Gaza Strip - Two Palestinian children were killed and a third was critically wounded on Wednesday in a blast in northern Gaza, and the Israeli military acknowledged firing at rocket launchers there. The area, which is populated by civilians, is frequently used by Palestinian militants to launch rocket attacks against southern Israel.
The dead were identified as Mahmoud Ghazal, 10, and his cousin, Yehiya Ghazal, 12, said Dr. Moaiya Hassanain of the Palestinian Health Ministry. Their 10-year-old cousin, Sara Ghazal, was critically injured, he said. Witnesses said there were rocket launchers in the area. The Israeli military said its forces saw people handling the launchers and opened fire on them. The military said this was not the first time Palestinian militants have employed children in their attacks on Israel.
A relative, Wasfi Ghazal, said he heard the sound of an explosion and then children screaming. He held both Israel and the militant rocket squads responsible. "We are victims of the occupation and victims of the misbehavior of some of the fighters who are randomly choosing our area to target Israel," he told The Associated Press. In a statement, the Israeli military said it "wishes to express sorrow" for the "use of teenagers in terror attacks." Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, an adviser to President Mahmoud Abbas, said the killing of children is unjustifiable, and condemned it in the "strongest possible terms." "I think violence breads more violence, and hatred. This will add to the complexities and feed the fire," he said.
In Gaza, Hamas spokesman Taher Nunu called the Israeli attack a "war crime" and called on Abbas to halt his meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. The two met Tuesday. Many Palestinian civilians have been killed in past Israeli attacks aimed at militants. The most serious incident was Nov. 8, 2006, when 18 civilians, including eight children, were killed by Israeli shells. Israel announced halt to shelling in Gaza after that.
The dead were identified as Mahmoud Ghazal, 10, and his cousin, Yehiya Ghazal, 12, said Dr. Moaiya Hassanain of the Palestinian Health Ministry. Their 10-year-old cousin, Sara Ghazal, was critically injured, he said. Witnesses said there were rocket launchers in the area. The Israeli military said its forces saw people handling the launchers and opened fire on them. The military said this was not the first time Palestinian militants have employed children in their attacks on Israel.
A relative, Wasfi Ghazal, said he heard the sound of an explosion and then children screaming. He held both Israel and the militant rocket squads responsible. "We are victims of the occupation and victims of the misbehavior of some of the fighters who are randomly choosing our area to target Israel," he told The Associated Press. In a statement, the Israeli military said it "wishes to express sorrow" for the "use of teenagers in terror attacks." Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, an adviser to President Mahmoud Abbas, said the killing of children is unjustifiable, and condemned it in the "strongest possible terms." "I think violence breads more violence, and hatred. This will add to the complexities and feed the fire," he said.
In Gaza, Hamas spokesman Taher Nunu called the Israeli attack a "war crime" and called on Abbas to halt his meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. The two met Tuesday. Many Palestinian civilians have been killed in past Israeli attacks aimed at militants. The most serious incident was Nov. 8, 2006, when 18 civilians, including eight children, were killed by Israeli shells. Israel announced halt to shelling in Gaza after that.
Mr Prime Minister Salaam Fayad and Hamas
You are really in a hurry..Ain´t you? You are in the middle in a process! A process is a process, not a ready package that you can open up in a minute! Don´t try to make us believe it should be ready and done now! Sure everyone can see that there are security needs that needs to be taken. And that is started now. You go from there..And don´t try to jump over something on the way. We are sure the Israelis working on ways with steps to make it easier for Palestinian to move and with roadblocks.
And how about the medical care and workers at the hospital in Gaza? It´s your people there! And it´s scandalous to make them pay more for health care at private clinics after drawing in doctors working times! Scandalous! Open them up!
And yes..We do like to see cooperation to establish a functioning society in Gaza, with representatives and a political process there as well. Gaza do need to functioning with the communities in the West Bank.
There are no such thing as let the people suffer and pay for differences! And you should all be able to make it happen without a "unity government", that have different goals and can not functioning because of that!
We are fed up with getting rockets for answers. Make it work between the West Bank and Gaza! Respect others work for solutions to peace, that travels across half the world! Stop firing rockets to open up the door between the Gaza citizens to the internationally community!
And how about the medical care and workers at the hospital in Gaza? It´s your people there! And it´s scandalous to make them pay more for health care at private clinics after drawing in doctors working times! Scandalous! Open them up!
And yes..We do like to see cooperation to establish a functioning society in Gaza, with representatives and a political process there as well. Gaza do need to functioning with the communities in the West Bank.
There are no such thing as let the people suffer and pay for differences! And you should all be able to make it happen without a "unity government", that have different goals and can not functioning because of that!
We are fed up with getting rockets for answers. Make it work between the West Bank and Gaza! Respect others work for solutions to peace, that travels across half the world! Stop firing rockets to open up the door between the Gaza citizens to the internationally community!
"The U.S. accusations are not true," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told Reuters by phone
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran rejected on Wednesday accusations by U.S. President George W. Bush that Tehran was fomenting instability in Iraq, and called on Washington to change its policies in the region.
"The U.S. accusations are not true," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told Reuters by phone, saying Bush was repeating them "again and again." The spokesman did not comment on Bush's remarks that Iran's pursuit of the atomic bomb could lead to a nuclear holocaust in the Middle East.
Bush and other U.S. officials have long accused Iran of supplying weapons to insurgents in Iraq, but in a speech to veterans on Tuesday the president hardened his stance by lumping Tehran and al Qaeda together. "Iran has long been a source of trouble in the region. It is the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism... And Iran's active pursuit of technology that could lead to nuclear weapons threatens to put a region already known for instability and violence under the shadow of a nuclear holocaust," Bush said. He said U.S. forces in Iraq have recently seized rockets manufactured in Iran and that attacks on American bases and troops with Iran-supplied weapons had increased in the past few months. "Iran's actions threaten the security of nations everywhere. And that is why the United States is rallying friends and allies around the world to isolate the regime, to impose economic sanctions. We will confront this danger before it is too late.
'MURDEROUS ACTIVITIES' "The Iranian regime must halt these actions. And until it does, I will take actions necessary to protect our troops. I have authorized our military commanders in Iraq to confront Tehran's murderous activities," Bush added.
"The U.S. accusations are not true," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told Reuters by phone, saying Bush was repeating them "again and again." The spokesman did not comment on Bush's remarks that Iran's pursuit of the atomic bomb could lead to a nuclear holocaust in the Middle East.
Bush and other U.S. officials have long accused Iran of supplying weapons to insurgents in Iraq, but in a speech to veterans on Tuesday the president hardened his stance by lumping Tehran and al Qaeda together. "Iran has long been a source of trouble in the region. It is the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism... And Iran's active pursuit of technology that could lead to nuclear weapons threatens to put a region already known for instability and violence under the shadow of a nuclear holocaust," Bush said. He said U.S. forces in Iraq have recently seized rockets manufactured in Iran and that attacks on American bases and troops with Iran-supplied weapons had increased in the past few months. "Iran's actions threaten the security of nations everywhere. And that is why the United States is rallying friends and allies around the world to isolate the regime, to impose economic sanctions. We will confront this danger before it is too late.
'MURDEROUS ACTIVITIES' "The Iranian regime must halt these actions. And until it does, I will take actions necessary to protect our troops. I have authorized our military commanders in Iraq to confront Tehran's murderous activities," Bush added.
American troops raided a Baghdad hotel
BAGHDAD, Iraq - American troops raided a Baghdad hotel Tuesday night and took away a group of about 10 people that a U.S.-funded radio station said included six members of an Iranian delegation here to negotiate contracts with Iraq's government.
Worldwide, experts say, between 250,000 and 600,000 pieces of art looted by the Nazis are still held by museums, governments and private collectors
JERUSALEM - Israel's national museum has launched an Internet catalog of more than 1,000 pieces of art looted by the Nazis to allow Holocaust survivors and their heirs to identify and reclaim property. The release of the database followed a spat between the Israel Museum and a group, formed by the Israeli government to locate the property of Holocaust victims, that accused the museum of not doing enough to return pieces to their rightful owners. The group hailed the database on Tuesday as a "very positive sign."
The pieces include drawings, Judaica items and paintings — several of them worth millions of dollars — that were plundered by German troops, recovered by the Allies in postwar Europe and later transferred to Israel. The pieces have never been claimed, according to the museum, and the scant information available about their origins has made locating heirs nearly impossible.
"We are so happy that the museum has adopted the principle of publishing its holdings," said Avraham Roet, the Dutch-born Holocaust survivor who heads the Israeli restitution group, officially known as The Company for Locating and Retrieving Assets of People Who Were Killed in the Holocaust. "This is a very positive sign, and there is cooperation between us." Roet's organization criticized the museum this year for not publicizing the looted artwork in its possession and demanded it turn over the pieces so they could be restored to their rightful owners or sold for the benefit of needy survivors. The museum refused, saying that as a national institution of the Jewish state it was a fitting home for the artwork. The restitution group has now backed away from its demand for the artwork and will instead likely reach a compromise with the museum, Roet said — possibly one that will see the pieces on display as a memorial to Jews killed in the Holocaust.
James Snyder, the museum's director, said work on the Web site began long before the restitution company pressed its demand. "We've taken an active role in restitution, and we think it's important for us in Israel to behave in an exemplary way," Snyder said. The museum should still put out a printed catalog for elderly survivors who might not know how to use the Internet, said Lucille Roussin, a legal expert on looted art at Yeshiva University in New York City. The museum has returned some 20 pieces claimed over the years, he said, the most famous of which was Camille Pissarro's "Boulevard Montmartre: Spring" in 2000. The original owners' heirs agreed to leave the painting on display at the museum, accompanied by an explanation of its history.
The pieces include drawings, Judaica items and paintings — several of them worth millions of dollars — that were plundered by German troops, recovered by the Allies in postwar Europe and later transferred to Israel. The pieces have never been claimed, according to the museum, and the scant information available about their origins has made locating heirs nearly impossible.
"We are so happy that the museum has adopted the principle of publishing its holdings," said Avraham Roet, the Dutch-born Holocaust survivor who heads the Israeli restitution group, officially known as The Company for Locating and Retrieving Assets of People Who Were Killed in the Holocaust. "This is a very positive sign, and there is cooperation between us." Roet's organization criticized the museum this year for not publicizing the looted artwork in its possession and demanded it turn over the pieces so they could be restored to their rightful owners or sold for the benefit of needy survivors. The museum refused, saying that as a national institution of the Jewish state it was a fitting home for the artwork. The restitution group has now backed away from its demand for the artwork and will instead likely reach a compromise with the museum, Roet said — possibly one that will see the pieces on display as a memorial to Jews killed in the Holocaust.
James Snyder, the museum's director, said work on the Web site began long before the restitution company pressed its demand. "We've taken an active role in restitution, and we think it's important for us in Israel to behave in an exemplary way," Snyder said. The museum should still put out a printed catalog for elderly survivors who might not know how to use the Internet, said Lucille Roussin, a legal expert on looted art at Yeshiva University in New York City. The museum has returned some 20 pieces claimed over the years, he said, the most famous of which was Camille Pissarro's "Boulevard Montmartre: Spring" in 2000. The original owners' heirs agreed to leave the painting on display at the museum, accompanied by an explanation of its history.
U.N., Sudan-Darfur
Khartoum - Talks between the Sudanese government and rebel factions to try to end the four-year conflict in Darfur could start in October, the African Union's special envoy for Sudan said on Wednesday."We are working on the basis that the talks will take place in early October," Salim Ahmed Salim told reporters after a meeting with Sudanese Foreign Minister Lam Akol. He said the exact date would be set by United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon, who is due to visit Sudan, and the head of the African Union Commission Alpha Omar Konare. Representatives of Darfur's many rebel groups gathered earlier this month in the Tanzanian town of Arusha for UN- and AU-sponsored talks aimed at unifying their stance ahead of final peace negotiations with Khartoum.
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon set ambitious goals on Tuesday for a tour he will make next week of Sudan, Chad and Libya, saying he aimed to lay the foundations of lasting peace in violence-racked Darfur. But Ban told reporters a massive peace mission due to go to Darfur would come to nothing without cooperation from Sudan's government and he would press it for its full support. His six-day trip follows last month's Security Council resolution dispatching 26,000 U.N. and African Union peacekeepers to the western Sudanese region in a bid to end more than four years of killing, raping and looting. An estimated 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million have been displaced in Darfur since rebels launched an uprising in 2003, accusing Khartoum of neglecting the region. The violence has involved government forces, pro-government Arab militia and rebel groups.
"I want to create the foundations of a lasting peace and security," Ban told a news conference about his tour. "My goal is to lock in the progress we have made so far. To build on it so that this terrible trauma may one day cease." Deploring as "simply unacceptable" a recent surge in violence in Darfur that he said had cost hundreds of lives, Ban said he would press Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir to fully support the peacekeeping mission. "I appeal to the government of Sudan and to all parties to refrain from military action," said Ban, who diplomats say has made
The so-called hybrid peace mission, supposed to be in place early next year and one of the largest and most complex the United Nations has ever taken on, "cannot succeed without the cooperation of the government of Sudan," Ban said.
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon set ambitious goals on Tuesday for a tour he will make next week of Sudan, Chad and Libya, saying he aimed to lay the foundations of lasting peace in violence-racked Darfur. But Ban told reporters a massive peace mission due to go to Darfur would come to nothing without cooperation from Sudan's government and he would press it for its full support. His six-day trip follows last month's Security Council resolution dispatching 26,000 U.N. and African Union peacekeepers to the western Sudanese region in a bid to end more than four years of killing, raping and looting. An estimated 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million have been displaced in Darfur since rebels launched an uprising in 2003, accusing Khartoum of neglecting the region. The violence has involved government forces, pro-government Arab militia and rebel groups.
"I want to create the foundations of a lasting peace and security," Ban told a news conference about his tour. "My goal is to lock in the progress we have made so far. To build on it so that this terrible trauma may one day cease." Deploring as "simply unacceptable" a recent surge in violence in Darfur that he said had cost hundreds of lives, Ban said he would press Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir to fully support the peacekeeping mission. "I appeal to the government of Sudan and to all parties to refrain from military action," said Ban, who diplomats say has made
The so-called hybrid peace mission, supposed to be in place early next year and one of the largest and most complex the United Nations has ever taken on, "cannot succeed without the cooperation of the government of Sudan," Ban said.
A process is a process..Not a ready package..
Tue Aug 28, JERUSALEM (AFP) - The Israeli and Palestinian leaders met on Tuesday to discuss the thorniest issues of the Middle East conflict with a view to finding common ground before a major peace conference later this year. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert hosted Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas at his official Jerusalem residence for talks with aides and a 90-minute one-on-one encounter that was their second meeting this month.
A senior Israeli government official said Abbas and Olmert discussed some of the most contested issues behind the decades-old conflict in order to prepare for the international conference called by US President George W. Bush. "Olmert and Abbas discussed the framework agreement, which included core issues such as refugees and Jerusalem, with the aim of drawing up a memorandum which will be presented at the Washington summit in November," he said. "They spoke extensively about the fundamental issues which would have to be dealt with to reach the two states for two peoples solution.
Abbas and Olmert have been at odds over what exactly they want to achieve before the conference, which local officials expect to take place in November after the Jewish and Muslim high holidays although no date has been announced.
Source AFP/By Ron Bousso
A senior Israeli government official said Abbas and Olmert discussed some of the most contested issues behind the decades-old conflict in order to prepare for the international conference called by US President George W. Bush. "Olmert and Abbas discussed the framework agreement, which included core issues such as refugees and Jerusalem, with the aim of drawing up a memorandum which will be presented at the Washington summit in November," he said. "They spoke extensively about the fundamental issues which would have to be dealt with to reach the two states for two peoples solution.
Abbas and Olmert have been at odds over what exactly they want to achieve before the conference, which local officials expect to take place in November after the Jewish and Muslim high holidays although no date has been announced.
Source AFP/By Ron Bousso
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
We have reach Samarkand..And Khiva
Don´t let the traffic take over Samarkand and destroy it by pollution! Why do you think they moved the Ramses statue in Egypt for?
Yeah...Look at this..It feels good...Doesn´t it? With a curious little nose over the table looking at all those books..That was then..We can´t go back..We can only move forward..
http://www.geocities.com/tajikland/Samarqand/Samarqand-Old-Town3.jpg
http://www.visit-uzbekistan.com/uzbekistan/gallery.php?img=samarkand_shahi_zinda_ensemble
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/16/22660434_e78fc1aa7d.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/tajikland/Samarqand/Samarqand-Old-Town1.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/xojand/Old-city-wall.jpg
Timur was a tyrant! And there was a religion before Islam!
In former years Sultaniyah and Tabriz with the whole kingdom of Western Persia all was under the government of Prince Miran Shah the eldest son of Timur, but in recent days he has been deposed from this government for reasons which we may now proceed to state. Prince Miran Shah when first he was established as viceroy in Persia had appointed to him a great host of troops and many nobles whom his father had sent to attend on him. When he had come into residence at Tabriz the mania of madness took him to demolish all houses: ordering the mosques and very many great public buildings also to be pulled down: and much of this demolition was in fact carried through. Then leaving Tabriz he came on to Sultaniyah, where he began to order the accomplishment of the like ruin. Next entering the great castle at Sultaniyah, where his father had caused much treasure to be stored, he ordered this forthwith to be distributed among the nobles and his personal attendants. Standing some distance outside the city is an immense [mosque and] palace of many apartments that was built in past times by a certain great lord, whose body was later buried here in a magnificent tomb of the Ilkhanid sultan Oljeytu, (Photo) Miran Shah now gave command to have the whole of this edifice demolished, and by his orders the body of the founder that lay buried there was forthwith thrown out lying on the ground to perish dishonoured....Some say the Prince dared not let us rest even for a moment, for should Timur come to know of it this would assuredly cost him, Ennacora, his head.
Khiva -The history of Horazm is antique that only a few civilizations could be compared with it.Before the 6th c.B.C. - Kelteminar, Tazabagyab, Suyurghan and Mirabad epochs were existing simultaneously or replacing each other. 6th c. B.C. - Khorazm defeated by Akheminids (Iran). 6th c. B.C.- Khorazm written language arose. It originates from the Arashey written language.Khorazm is supposed to be the birthplace of Zaroastrizm.
Yeah...Look at this..It feels good...Doesn´t it? With a curious little nose over the table looking at all those books..That was then..We can´t go back..We can only move forward..
http://www.geocities.com/tajikland/Samarqand/Samarqand-Old-Town3.jpg
http://www.visit-uzbekistan.com/uzbekistan/gallery.php?img=samarkand_shahi_zinda_ensemble
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/16/22660434_e78fc1aa7d.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/tajikland/Samarqand/Samarqand-Old-Town1.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/xojand/Old-city-wall.jpg
Timur was a tyrant! And there was a religion before Islam!
In former years Sultaniyah and Tabriz with the whole kingdom of Western Persia all was under the government of Prince Miran Shah the eldest son of Timur, but in recent days he has been deposed from this government for reasons which we may now proceed to state. Prince Miran Shah when first he was established as viceroy in Persia had appointed to him a great host of troops and many nobles whom his father had sent to attend on him. When he had come into residence at Tabriz the mania of madness took him to demolish all houses: ordering the mosques and very many great public buildings also to be pulled down: and much of this demolition was in fact carried through. Then leaving Tabriz he came on to Sultaniyah, where he began to order the accomplishment of the like ruin. Next entering the great castle at Sultaniyah, where his father had caused much treasure to be stored, he ordered this forthwith to be distributed among the nobles and his personal attendants. Standing some distance outside the city is an immense [mosque and] palace of many apartments that was built in past times by a certain great lord, whose body was later buried here in a magnificent tomb of the Ilkhanid sultan Oljeytu, (Photo) Miran Shah now gave command to have the whole of this edifice demolished, and by his orders the body of the founder that lay buried there was forthwith thrown out lying on the ground to perish dishonoured....Some say the Prince dared not let us rest even for a moment, for should Timur come to know of it this would assuredly cost him, Ennacora, his head.
Samarkand -End of the 4th c.-beginning of the 3rd c.B.C. - the invasion of Alexander's army.328 B.C. - The rebellion of citizens against Alexander. The city was destroyed.4th-3rd c.c. B.C - Battleground between the state of the Selikvids and the Parphians.1st c. B.C. -1st c. A.D. - Commerce and culture flowerishing. Kushan tsars reign.3rd c. - Arab conquest of the city.7th-8th cc, - Samarkand was the heart of Sogdiana.
Khiva -The history of Horazm is antique that only a few civilizations could be compared with it.Before the 6th c.B.C. - Kelteminar, Tazabagyab, Suyurghan and Mirabad epochs were existing simultaneously or replacing each other. 6th c. B.C. - Khorazm defeated by Akheminids (Iran). 6th c. B.C.- Khorazm written language arose. It originates from the Arashey written language.Khorazm is supposed to be the birthplace of Zaroastrizm.
Site of the Achaemenians - The Magics
Zoroastrism -- the world spread religious system was born on the territory of the present day Uzbekistan (in Khorezm) and became common property of all mankind. There was formed the highest technological culture of those times: town-planning, irrigation systems, armory, silk-weaving, cultivation of grain, cotton, grapes and fruits. In those times local technologies and master-craftsmen (Ustos) were highly valued and appreciated. The synthetic character is rather typical for this particular civilization: Combination of achievements gained by the Sogdians, peoples of Khorezm, Turks, India, China, Iran, Middle East and by Hellenism. The religious extension of Islam to Maverannahr, accompanied by military invasions of the Arabs in the 7-8th centuries met with the resistance from the local religious tradition, embodied in the Zoroastrism of the Sogdians and Backtrians, Buddhism of the residents of Balkh and the Upper Amudarya, and the growing authority of the Christian communities. However later on the population of the region was convinced in the great cultural and moral possibilities of Islam. The final victory of Islam in Turan may be related to the creation of politically and spiritually united state of the Samanid Turks in the 9th century with the center in the Zarafshan oasis (Samarkand and Bukhara). It was based on the rise of trade and development of the local artisans' production export.
http://www.umid.uz/Main/Uzbekistan/History/history.html
So...Don´t give us some Jihad-Bullshit!
Don´t repeat history! You can not do what you have done for 40 years! Rethink!
Or it will cost you! BIG times!
The people have not selected you to serve you! You are selected to serve the people!
You need to get a political process going with people involved! you can not run Gaza as a totalitarian state. It will not work.Start organize with representatives from Fatah in Gaza, students, health care, shop owners, farmers, teachers, prisons, human rights groups, ordinary Gazans etc.. Let them select a representative in your prison and start talk!
It´s need in Gaza to get communities and representatives..as well to functioning together with the West Bank and in one Palestinian state! That is a process that needs to be started now. Take people in to make some decisions how to calm things down! And take people in and let them be a part of decisions for the Gaza citizens, handle out some job and responsibility to others.
You say you are selected in a democracy so start acting like a democracy! You start organize and let people select representatives and bring people into a political process.
It´s need in Gaza to get communities and representatives..as well to functioning together with the West Bank and in one Palestinian state! That is a process that needs to be started now. Take people in to make some decisions how to calm things down! And take people in and let them be a part of decisions for the Gaza citizens, handle out some job and responsibility to others.
You say you are selected in a democracy so start acting like a democracy! You start organize and let people select representatives and bring people into a political process.
Negotiating teams
Pressure is mounting on the two sides to work out differences that have blocked the resumption of peace talks that stalled in 2001 amid intensifying violence. Abbas and Olmert have been meeting regularly for several months, in an attempt to boost a peace process.
The Haaretz newspaper reported Tuesday that the two sides had agreed to set up negotiating teams to advance the talks. A senior Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the talks were not public, said Olmert has agreed to include the issues of borders, refugees and Jerusalem in the so-called declaration of principles. However, it was not clear in what way they would be included. Barak said a significant withdrawal would have to wait until Israel had a missile defense system in place in the West Bank, which is just miles from major Israeli urban centers. His comments drew immediate fire from Palestinian officials. "I find it very hard to comprehend such statements when the prime minister and the Palestinian president are doing their best in order to achieve the end game," meaning a peace agreement, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said.
The Haaretz newspaper reported Tuesday that the two sides had agreed to set up negotiating teams to advance the talks. A senior Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the talks were not public, said Olmert has agreed to include the issues of borders, refugees and Jerusalem in the so-called declaration of principles. However, it was not clear in what way they would be included. Barak said a significant withdrawal would have to wait until Israel had a missile defense system in place in the West Bank, which is just miles from major Israeli urban centers. His comments drew immediate fire from Palestinian officials. "I find it very hard to comprehend such statements when the prime minister and the Palestinian president are doing their best in order to achieve the end game," meaning a peace agreement, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said.
Hospital doctors across Gaza launched a work slowdown earlier this month to protest the arrest of a prominent physician allied with Fatah
Hospital doctors across Gaza launched a work slowdown earlier this month to protest the arrest of a prominent physician allied with Fatah. On orders from Abbas' West Bank government, which pays their salaries, most curtailed their daytime hospital schedule to three hours a day, receiving patients afterward in expensive private clinics. Salma Taleb, 55, a breast cancer patient, recounted standing in line 50 minutes at the Shifa Hospital pharmacy in Gaza City recently to buy critically needed medications, only to be told to come back the following day because she reached the counter five minutes after the 11 a.m. closing time. The next day she arrived late and was turned away again - provoking her to file a complaint with the health ministry.
Most hospital doctors are affiliated with Fatah. One, who identified himself only as Dr. Nabil, for fear of Hamas retribution, said doctors would resist the shutdown of their clinics. "The aim of the work slowdown is to protest the harassment that we face from the Hamas government in Gaza, and their policy of stripping away our authorities and giving them to Hamas-allied doctors," he said. "We will not allow them to close the clinics down," he said, adding, "We will stop the strike if Hamas stops its harassment." "The aim of the work slowdown is to protest the harassment that we face from the Hamas government in Gaza, and their policy of stripping away our authorities and giving them to Hamas-allied doctors," he said.
The independent Al Mezan Center for Human Rights urged that the health sector be removed from any political influence. And it called on doctors to end their strike. "The strike will push the level of health services to an even lower point at a time when it is already verging on collapse," Al Mezan said.
There must be some common sense among you! Open up the hospitals! The people shall not pay more for health care or be without it because their politicians can´t solve conflicts! Gousch!
End of "discussion"!
Most hospital doctors are affiliated with Fatah. One, who identified himself only as Dr. Nabil, for fear of Hamas retribution, said doctors would resist the shutdown of their clinics. "The aim of the work slowdown is to protest the harassment that we face from the Hamas government in Gaza, and their policy of stripping away our authorities and giving them to Hamas-allied doctors," he said. "We will not allow them to close the clinics down," he said, adding, "We will stop the strike if Hamas stops its harassment." "The aim of the work slowdown is to protest the harassment that we face from the Hamas government in Gaza, and their policy of stripping away our authorities and giving them to Hamas-allied doctors," he said.
The independent Al Mezan Center for Human Rights urged that the health sector be removed from any political influence. And it called on doctors to end their strike. "The strike will push the level of health services to an even lower point at a time when it is already verging on collapse," Al Mezan said.
There must be some common sense among you! Open up the hospitals! The people shall not pay more for health care or be without it because their politicians can´t solve conflicts! Gousch!
End of "discussion"!
Monday, August 27, 2007
Meshaal called on the international community to deal with the "reality of the Palestinian arena"
Meshaal called on the international community to deal with the "reality of the Palestinian arena," saying this would "lead to genuine peace in the region, and the waterfall of blood will stop." Asked about the possibility of a long-term truce with Israel, Meshaal said: "We... have been saying this for more than 10 years... that there could be a truce with Israel but when? "After Israel withdraws from the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, east Jerusalem, and recognises Palestinian rights including the right to return."
Free women with children
Freed prisoners against a video tape? Half measures! Why don´t you just do a prisoner swap properly? What´s the problem? How hard can it be? We would like to see women and minors getting freed. And a prisoner swap would in fact give better conditions for stability..Like stop throwing rockets! Yes stop throwing rockets against women with children and minors in exchange of women, children and minors and a video tape! That would give more openings..even towards the internationally community..In your jihad-Gaza-prison!
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Well..Khaled Meshaal
How can you get the equation going together with demanding to get your rights respected from those you claim have no rights? It´s the same thing with demanding to be recognized by those you say you don´t recognize..
There seems to be something missing or something wrong with this "picture"..
There is something that don´t correspond here..
There seems to be something missing or something wrong with this "picture"..
There is something that don´t correspond here..
Stop treating Iraq like "one of your villages."
BAGHDAD - Iraq's embattled prime minister lashed out at American critics Sunday, saying Sen. Hillary Clinton and other Democrats who have called for his ouster should "come to their senses" and stop treating Iraq like "one of their villages."
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Khaled Meshal said Friday that abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit is alive and well
Damascus-based Hamas leader Khaled Meshal said Friday that abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit is alive and well, speaking in an interview with CNN. Meshal, the head of Hamas' political office in Damascus, also told CNN that Hamas has confirmed that Shalit is well to his father Noam, and that the group has given the kidnapped soldier a pair of eyeglasses. Meshal stated in the interview that Hamas has put forward a list of 350 Palestinians they want released from Israeli jails in return for the abducted soldier, but he blamed Israel for the breakdown of negotiations.
In for a Middle East peace conference
CAIRO (Reuters) - A Middle East peace conference called by U.S. President George W. Bush lacks a framework, Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was quoted as saying on Saturday.
"Egypt supports the necessity of consensus around all the outstanding cases for political settlement before the international meeting called for by President Bush is held," Mubarak said. Issues including whether or not Syria would participate in the meeting had not yet been finalized, Mubarak said.
"Until now the framework of what will be discussed has not been specified," Mubarak was quoted as saying. Arab officials say the United States has given few details about the agenda for the conference, expected in October or November, leaving little time for a concerted effort to help Israelis and Palestinians bridge the chasm on issues such as final borders, Jerusalem, and the fate of Palestinian refugees. Bush called in July called for a Middle East peace conference to include Israel, the Palestinian Authority and their neighbors. Egypt, a long-time U.S. ally and one of only two Arab states to make peace with Israel, played a facilitating role in past Israeli-Palestinian talks that failed to end the conflict. Last month Arab foreign ministers said the conference must include all the parties concerned, must aim to revive negotiations between Israel and all its neighbors and must be built on previous peace talks.
"Egypt supports the necessity of consensus around all the outstanding cases for political settlement before the international meeting called for by President Bush is held," Mubarak said. Issues including whether or not Syria would participate in the meeting had not yet been finalized, Mubarak said.
"Until now the framework of what will be discussed has not been specified," Mubarak was quoted as saying. Arab officials say the United States has given few details about the agenda for the conference, expected in October or November, leaving little time for a concerted effort to help Israelis and Palestinians bridge the chasm on issues such as final borders, Jerusalem, and the fate of Palestinian refugees. Bush called in July called for a Middle East peace conference to include Israel, the Palestinian Authority and their neighbors. Egypt, a long-time U.S. ally and one of only two Arab states to make peace with Israel, played a facilitating role in past Israeli-Palestinian talks that failed to end the conflict. Last month Arab foreign ministers said the conference must include all the parties concerned, must aim to revive negotiations between Israel and all its neighbors and must be built on previous peace talks.
Friday, August 24, 2007
The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Friday to extend the mandate of the 13,600-member U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon
UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Friday to extend the mandate of the 13,600-member U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon and called for a permanent cease-fire and long-term solution to last summer's Israel-Hezbollah war. Following an Israeli request, several clauses were added to the decision including a call to immediately free kidnapped IDF reservists Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev without pre-set conditions, as well as condemnation of terror attacks against UNIFL troops operating in the area.
The resolution adopted by the council emphasized the need for greater progress in resolving these and other issues stemming from the 34-day war that killed more than 1,000 people in Lebanon and 159 people on the Israeli side. The Security Council reiterated its intention "to consider further steps to contribute to the implementation of a permanent cease-fire and a long-term solution." Earlier this month, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the council to extend the mandate of the force, known as UNIFIL, praising the troops for helping to establish security in southern Lebanon following the Israel-Hezbollah war. The resolution commends UNIFIL's positive role, with Lebanese troops, in helping "to establish a new strategic environment in southern Lebanon." Members said they look forward to increased cooperation between the U.N. and Lebanese forces.
Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora sent a letter asking the council to renew the mandate for a year. The resolution extends the mandate until Aug. 31, 2008. The resolution calls on all parties to respect the cessation of hostilities and the U.N.-drawn Blue Line boundary between Israel and Lebanon. The statement underscored the obligation of all countries, "in particular in the region," to ensure that the arms embargo is not violated. The council also expressed concern at allegations that Lebanese and other groups and militias are rearming, and voiced "deep concern" about recent statements by Hezbollah "that it retains the military capacity to strike all parts of Israel."
By EDITH M. LEDERER, AP
US Deputy Ambassador Alejandro Wolff said a June 24 bomb that killed six UNIFIL soldiers from Spain and the June 17 rocket attack against Israel "demonstrate that there are unauthorized armed elements and weapons in south Lebanon, and that they pose a danger both to regional stability and to the safety of UN personnel." The resolution does refer to previous resolutions that address issues such as disarming. Wolff also urged UN and Lebanese troops to establish joint patrols to prevent weapons smuggling and called for full implementation of a September 2004 resolution demanding that all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias be disbanded and disarmed. "Peace will never be secured until this call is met," he said.
The resolution adopted by the council emphasized the need for greater progress in resolving these and other issues stemming from the 34-day war that killed more than 1,000 people in Lebanon and 159 people on the Israeli side. The Security Council reiterated its intention "to consider further steps to contribute to the implementation of a permanent cease-fire and a long-term solution." Earlier this month, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the council to extend the mandate of the force, known as UNIFIL, praising the troops for helping to establish security in southern Lebanon following the Israel-Hezbollah war. The resolution commends UNIFIL's positive role, with Lebanese troops, in helping "to establish a new strategic environment in southern Lebanon." Members said they look forward to increased cooperation between the U.N. and Lebanese forces.
Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora sent a letter asking the council to renew the mandate for a year. The resolution extends the mandate until Aug. 31, 2008. The resolution calls on all parties to respect the cessation of hostilities and the U.N.-drawn Blue Line boundary between Israel and Lebanon. The statement underscored the obligation of all countries, "in particular in the region," to ensure that the arms embargo is not violated. The council also expressed concern at allegations that Lebanese and other groups and militias are rearming, and voiced "deep concern" about recent statements by Hezbollah "that it retains the military capacity to strike all parts of Israel."
By EDITH M. LEDERER, AP
US Deputy Ambassador Alejandro Wolff said a June 24 bomb that killed six UNIFIL soldiers from Spain and the June 17 rocket attack against Israel "demonstrate that there are unauthorized armed elements and weapons in south Lebanon, and that they pose a danger both to regional stability and to the safety of UN personnel." The resolution does refer to previous resolutions that address issues such as disarming. Wolff also urged UN and Lebanese troops to establish joint patrols to prevent weapons smuggling and called for full implementation of a September 2004 resolution demanding that all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias be disbanded and disarmed. "Peace will never be secured until this call is met," he said.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Made in Iran - War crimes - Satan´s jihad swamp!
• Implementing terrorist attacks on government and civilian targets under the direction of the Quds Force commanders; As well in Yemen as in Iraq.
• Instigating sectarian differences in Yemen, an already working plan which is paying off well in Iraq
• Smuggling drugs and other forbidden substances to create social disorder.
The Quds Force has already setup some camps for Yemenis militias fleeing to Iran. Tehran, Karaj, and Qom are among the cities housing the camps for training the new recruits coming in form Yemen. In the garrisons, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Cops (IRGC) specialized trainers brainwash the newcomers and turn them into time bombs ready to explode.
• Instigating sectarian differences in Yemen, an already working plan which is paying off well in Iraq
• Smuggling drugs and other forbidden substances to create social disorder.
The Quds Force has already setup some camps for Yemenis militias fleeing to Iran. Tehran, Karaj, and Qom are among the cities housing the camps for training the new recruits coming in form Yemen. In the garrisons, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Cops (IRGC) specialized trainers brainwash the newcomers and turn them into time bombs ready to explode.
Sudan - Russian made arms- crimes against humanity
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Sudan has expelled the European Union and Canadian envoys from the war-torn African country, state radio and Western officials said on Thursday. CAIRO, Egypt - A human rights group said Thursday that Sudan's government continues to violate a U.N. arms embargo in Darfur and urged the United Nations to give its planned peacekeeping force for the region the authority to confiscate weapons from combatants. In its latest report on Darfur, the London-based Amnesty International published photographs it said were obtained from credible witnesses supporting the claim of arms embargo violations. The photographs were taken in July and purportedly show military shipments at the Sudanese army airport in the West Darfur state capital of El Geneina, the group said. One photograph shows Sudanese soldiers moving containers from an Antonov cargo plane onto military trucks and two others show Russian-supplied Mi-7 and Mi-24 attack helicopters at the airport, Amnesty said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070824/ap_on_re_mi_ea/amnesty_sudan;_ylt=Am7MHAMavqYimmgSPlWc5z4LewgF
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070824/ap_on_re_mi_ea/amnesty_sudan;_ylt=Am7MHAMavqYimmgSPlWc5z4LewgF
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Two children killed in Gaza
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Israeli forces trying to combat Palestinian rocket squads along the border with Gaza killed two children on Tuesday, Palestinian medical officials said.
The two dead were 10 and 12 years old, according to Dr. Muawiya Hassanin of the Palestinian Health Ministry. A third child, 10, was seriously wounded and six other people were lightly injured, all of them civilians, he said.
The Israeli army said ground forces fired at two Palestinians who were spotted near a rocket launcher in an area of northern Gaza where a rocket was fired into Israel earlier. An army statement said Palestinian rocket teams have been known to send young children to retrieve rocket launchers after firing. "In light of the reports, it seems likely that this was the case here," the army said. The Israeli military regularly carries out attacks targeting Palestinian militants launching rockets at towns in southern Israel. Gaza militants fired three rockets into Israel on Tuesday including one that hit an empty kindergarten in the town of Sderot near Gaza, the army said. Earlier Tuesday, Israeli troops killed three Islamic Jihad militants in southern Gaza. On Monday, the Israeli air force killed six Hamas gunmen.
The two dead were 10 and 12 years old, according to Dr. Muawiya Hassanin of the Palestinian Health Ministry. A third child, 10, was seriously wounded and six other people were lightly injured, all of them civilians, he said.
The Israeli army said ground forces fired at two Palestinians who were spotted near a rocket launcher in an area of northern Gaza where a rocket was fired into Israel earlier. An army statement said Palestinian rocket teams have been known to send young children to retrieve rocket launchers after firing. "In light of the reports, it seems likely that this was the case here," the army said. The Israeli military regularly carries out attacks targeting Palestinian militants launching rockets at towns in southern Israel. Gaza militants fired three rockets into Israel on Tuesday including one that hit an empty kindergarten in the town of Sderot near Gaza, the army said. Earlier Tuesday, Israeli troops killed three Islamic Jihad militants in southern Gaza. On Monday, the Israeli air force killed six Hamas gunmen.
Bernard Kouchner in three days of talks with Iraq's leaders
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner called on Europe on Tuesday to play a bigger role in Iraq because "the Americans will not be able to get this country out of difficulty alone." "Europe must play a role ... and I hope that other foreign ministers will come and visit Iraq," Kouchner told France's RTL Radio in an interview from Baghdad. He did not say what that role should be.
Kouchner said after three days of talks with Iraq's leaders, including Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and President Jalal Talabani, it was clear there was a lack of trust between the different groups. "I felt that there is a lack of trust among the different groups and leaders. Maybe the trust between the people is more than that," Kouchner told reporters through an Arabic translator after talks with Sunni Arab Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi and Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari, a Kurd. Iraq's national unity government is paralyzed by infighting, with political blocs representing the country's majority Shi'ite Muslims and minority Sunni Arab and Kurdish communities reluctant to compromise to reach a proper power-sharing deal.
The slow political progress towards national reconciliation has frustrated Washington. Washington says it has deployed 30,000 extra troops in the country to give Iraq's political leaders time to reach a political accommodation and reconcile the warring sides."Everyone knows the Americans will not be able to get this country out of difficulty alone. And so, I have said it and I will say it again, the more the Iraqis request the intervention of the U.N. the more France will help them," Kouchner told RTL.
The United Nations Security Council voted earlier this month to give the United Nations an expanded political role in Iraq to promote dialogue between rival factions and dialogue with neighboring countries. Maliki is on a three-day visit to Damascus to convince Syria to stop what Baghdad sees as support for rebels fighting his U.S.-backed government. Syria has said it is difficult to police its porous border with Iraq.
Kouchner said after three days of talks with Iraq's leaders, including Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and President Jalal Talabani, it was clear there was a lack of trust between the different groups. "I felt that there is a lack of trust among the different groups and leaders. Maybe the trust between the people is more than that," Kouchner told reporters through an Arabic translator after talks with Sunni Arab Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi and Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari, a Kurd. Iraq's national unity government is paralyzed by infighting, with political blocs representing the country's majority Shi'ite Muslims and minority Sunni Arab and Kurdish communities reluctant to compromise to reach a proper power-sharing deal.
The slow political progress towards national reconciliation has frustrated Washington. Washington says it has deployed 30,000 extra troops in the country to give Iraq's political leaders time to reach a political accommodation and reconcile the warring sides."Everyone knows the Americans will not be able to get this country out of difficulty alone. And so, I have said it and I will say it again, the more the Iraqis request the intervention of the U.N. the more France will help them," Kouchner told RTL.
The United Nations Security Council voted earlier this month to give the United Nations an expanded political role in Iraq to promote dialogue between rival factions and dialogue with neighboring countries. Maliki is on a three-day visit to Damascus to convince Syria to stop what Baghdad sees as support for rebels fighting his U.S.-backed government. Syria has said it is difficult to police its porous border with Iraq.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Refugees from Sudan's Darfur?
We would like to see Iran take in some Darfur refugees, instead of having their "jihad-eating-children-over-the whole-Middle East-satanic-meetings"! Or it maybe wouldn´t be so hard to find ways to fly some Darfur refugees over to those that criticise others for not taking in enough..?
Mentally exhausted children
Used, abused and Mentally exhausted children. To much using children as tools and expose them in conflicts they even can not effect gives them severely damaging on their mentally health!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsuF1it68tg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxF1uAq6Jmc&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsuF1it68tg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxF1uAq6Jmc&NR=1
Saturday, August 18, 2007
So..The summary for this week is..
The Shiites in Iraq are taking the bombings and consequences of the "Shiite allie" Iran´s al-Sadr´s "resistance" while he sneaks away to Iran.
Syria accuses The Saudis for not being engaged in politics in the Middle East and claims they are not able to unify the Palestinians after they sat in Damascus and urged to "resistance" against the "occupiers" while Palestinians got shot trying to restore order.
Sunnis backed off a meeting with members of communities after complaining on conditions out in the communities.
A couple a months ago the children in Gaza demonstrated for peace! Now they dancing around with their hands painted red and repeats extremists how they want´s to die!
Mr Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki goes to the Sunni tribals.. And The United States says the might list Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards as terrorists..
Iranian and Palestinian hijacks Turkish plane.
And the Talibans calls on Afghans to shun their differences and join the militant Islamic movement's campaign to drive Western troops from Afghanistan.
Lebanon has charged over 100 suspected militants with terrorism, accusing them of belonging to an al-Qaida-inspired group that has been battling the army for almost three months, a court official said Saturday.Prosecutor General Saeed Mirza filed the charges on Friday, targeting 107 suspected Fatah Islam members in police custody and an indeterminate number still at large, including group leader Shaker Youssef al-Absi, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.Mirza accused the suspected militants of "establishing a gang with the aim of committing crimes against the people, stealing money, undermining the state's authority and attacking its military and security institutions," according to the official.
Iraqi officials: Iran shelled Kurdish areas in northern Iraq over past 3 days.
Syria accuses The Saudis for not being engaged in politics in the Middle East and claims they are not able to unify the Palestinians after they sat in Damascus and urged to "resistance" against the "occupiers" while Palestinians got shot trying to restore order.
Sunnis backed off a meeting with members of communities after complaining on conditions out in the communities.
A couple a months ago the children in Gaza demonstrated for peace! Now they dancing around with their hands painted red and repeats extremists how they want´s to die!
Mr Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki goes to the Sunni tribals.. And The United States says the might list Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards as terrorists..
Iranian and Palestinian hijacks Turkish plane.
And the Talibans calls on Afghans to shun their differences and join the militant Islamic movement's campaign to drive Western troops from Afghanistan.
Lebanon has charged over 100 suspected militants with terrorism, accusing them of belonging to an al-Qaida-inspired group that has been battling the army for almost three months, a court official said Saturday.Prosecutor General Saeed Mirza filed the charges on Friday, targeting 107 suspected Fatah Islam members in police custody and an indeterminate number still at large, including group leader Shaker Youssef al-Absi, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.Mirza accused the suspected militants of "establishing a gang with the aim of committing crimes against the people, stealing money, undermining the state's authority and attacking its military and security institutions," according to the official.
Iraqi officials: Iran shelled Kurdish areas in northern Iraq over past 3 days.
Friday, August 17, 2007
An appeal for unity
BAGHDAD - Iraq's Shiite prime minister carried an appeal for unity to Saddam Hussein's hometown Friday and told Sunni tribal chieftains that all Iraqis must join to crush al-Qaida in Iraq and extremist Shiite militias "to save our coming generations." Now, al-Maliki is courting Sunni tribes in the north to join him.
And on Thursday, the prime minister signed a political manifesto, creating a new alliance with the Shiite Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council and the country's two main Kurdish political parties. The sharp alteration in the government's political course — a willingness to travel to the belly of the Sunni insurgency and talk with former enemies — suggested a new flexibility from the hard-line religious Shiites who hold considerable influence over al-Maliki's views. It also pointed to an apparent shift in military and political attention to northern Iraq as extremists seek new bases after being driven from Baghdad and strongholds in central Iraq by U.S.-led offensives. "There is more uniting us than dividing us," al-Maliki told sheiks in Tikrit, 80 miles north of Baghdad.
And on Thursday, the prime minister signed a political manifesto, creating a new alliance with the Shiite Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council and the country's two main Kurdish political parties. The sharp alteration in the government's political course — a willingness to travel to the belly of the Sunni insurgency and talk with former enemies — suggested a new flexibility from the hard-line religious Shiites who hold considerable influence over al-Maliki's views. It also pointed to an apparent shift in military and political attention to northern Iraq as extremists seek new bases after being driven from Baghdad and strongholds in central Iraq by U.S.-led offensives. "There is more uniting us than dividing us," al-Maliki told sheiks in Tikrit, 80 miles north of Baghdad.
Clashes Erupt in Beirut Following Nasrallah's Speech
Clashes Erupt in Beirut Following Nasrallah's Speech, 5 Wounded from Stray Bullets. LBC television channel said four people were wounded from stray bullets in Dahiyeh and were taken to Rasoul Aazam hospital for treatment. It said a man was also hit in the head by a stray bullet in east Lebanon's city of Baalbek.
More abuse of children..?
Children play the computer game "Special Force 2" during its introduction to the media in the Beirut suburbs August 16, 2007. Raid Israel to capture soldiers, battle tanks in the valleys of south Lebanon and launch Katyusha rockets at Israeli towns -- the new Hezbollah computer game puts players on the frontline of war with the Jewish state. "Special Force 2" is based on last year's 34-day conflict between the Lebanese guerrilla group and Israel. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir (LEBANON)
Thursday, August 16, 2007
A joint Israeli-Palestinian industrial park in the West Bank
Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Aso, Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdelelah al-Khatib, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Saeb Erekat, a senior aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, shake hands during a meeting in the West Bank city of Jericho, in this picture released August 15, 2007, by the Israeli Government Press Office (GPO). Japan's foreign minister announced on Wednesday Tokyo's resumption of direct aid to the Palestinian Authority and discussed a Japanese-backed plan to boost Israeli-Palestinian economic cooperation.
JERICHO, West Bank - Japan's foreign minister launched plans Wednesday for a joint Israeli-Palestinian industrial park in the West Bank that he said would promote peace in the region through prosperity.
Plans for the park in the city of Jericho include factories and canneries, a new commercial bridge over the Jordan River and an airport for Palestinian goods on the Jordanian side of the border, said Ahmed Sobeh, the deputy Palestinian foreign minister. The park will contribute to the economy of a future Palestinian state, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso said, "ensuring its stability as well as peace in the region." The officials did not mention a starting date for the project, which was first announced in March at a conference in Tokyo. They said only that technical teams would meet in October. Disputes remain between Israel and the Palestinians over the precise location of the park and sovereignty over the planned bridge, Sobeh told The Associated Press, adding that progress depends on the "political climate" between the sides. Past attempts to set up similar projects have foundered due to outbreaks of Israeli-Palestinian violence. Efforts at spurring cooperation between the two sides have intensified recently ahead of a Mideast peace conference the U.S. expects to host this fall. "This meeting is not just about economics, it is much more than that. It's a meeting of those who believe that the vision of two states for two peoples can and must become a reality," Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said at the Jericho news conference.
Plans for the park in the city of Jericho include factories and canneries, a new commercial bridge over the Jordan River and an airport for Palestinian goods on the Jordanian side of the border, said Ahmed Sobeh, the deputy Palestinian foreign minister. The park will contribute to the economy of a future Palestinian state, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso said, "ensuring its stability as well as peace in the region." The officials did not mention a starting date for the project, which was first announced in March at a conference in Tokyo. They said only that technical teams would meet in October. Disputes remain between Israel and the Palestinians over the precise location of the park and sovereignty over the planned bridge, Sobeh told The Associated Press, adding that progress depends on the "political climate" between the sides. Past attempts to set up similar projects have foundered due to outbreaks of Israeli-Palestinian violence. Efforts at spurring cooperation between the two sides have intensified recently ahead of a Mideast peace conference the U.S. expects to host this fall. "This meeting is not just about economics, it is much more than that. It's a meeting of those who believe that the vision of two states for two peoples can and must become a reality," Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said at the Jericho news conference.
"We are looking for a serious process... a process leading to a framework agreement where the parameters are clarified, specified."
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AFP) - The continued existence of armed militias is an obstacle to the promised Palestinian state, prime minister Salam Fayyad said on Thursday. "Building towards statehood and independence on the one hand, and continuing to tolerate armed militias on the other, are two mutually exclusive paths that will never meet," Fayyad said in an interview with the foreign press.
"We are learning that from experience. We need to deal with this. That's the key principle that needs to be understood, and understood clearly, and that has to be implemented. "Today that's what we are beginning to do in the West Bank and that is something that should be generalised.
"We simply cannot go back to a situation where matters are taken into the hands of the people acting outside of the... Palestinian authority. This is the key requirement," he said in the wide-ranging interview in English at his Ramallah office. Saying that actions done in the name of armed resistance had hurt the Palestinian cause, Fayyad said his government was committed to "non-violent steadfastness." "We know that practices that were engaged in under this heading of armed resistance were most detrimental to our cause," he said. "To me, a child scaling a checkpoint trying to go to his school is a form of resistance. It's non-violent steadfastness. That's our programme."
Hamas had blasted Fayyad for not including the term "resistance" in the programme of his government published in late July. Asked about the incident, he said: "We live up to commitements we made and there was a key commitment that the PLO had made on behalf of all the Palestinian people going back to 1993 in which we had committed to renouncing violence as means of getting to where we need to get, which is to free our people of occupation, to end it."
On the peace front, Fayyad said that Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert have started to discuss "political" issues ahead of an international peace conference called by US President George W. Bush for this autumn. "Up until the last meeting, the discussions had focused on transitional issues... day to day issues, not the political ones." "That discussion has started and we are pleased that these issues are being discussed. "It is important to build on that" ahead of the conference.
"We are looking for a serious process... a process leading to a framework agreement where the parameters are clarified, specified." "Then, before the meeting that was called by President Bush, it will be important to give that process an important push forward, toward translating that framework into a concrete agreement that can be implemented." Fayyad said that early elections would eventually be held in the Palestinian territories, but that no date has been set. "We are trying to stabilise the situation to go back to the people," he said. "We'll do that when it's feasible. Is it feasible now? Obviously not." "But elections will take place, both in Gaza and the West Bank."
By Mehdi Lebouachera /AFP
"We are learning that from experience. We need to deal with this. That's the key principle that needs to be understood, and understood clearly, and that has to be implemented. "Today that's what we are beginning to do in the West Bank and that is something that should be generalised.
"We simply cannot go back to a situation where matters are taken into the hands of the people acting outside of the... Palestinian authority. This is the key requirement," he said in the wide-ranging interview in English at his Ramallah office. Saying that actions done in the name of armed resistance had hurt the Palestinian cause, Fayyad said his government was committed to "non-violent steadfastness." "We know that practices that were engaged in under this heading of armed resistance were most detrimental to our cause," he said. "To me, a child scaling a checkpoint trying to go to his school is a form of resistance. It's non-violent steadfastness. That's our programme."
Hamas had blasted Fayyad for not including the term "resistance" in the programme of his government published in late July. Asked about the incident, he said: "We live up to commitements we made and there was a key commitment that the PLO had made on behalf of all the Palestinian people going back to 1993 in which we had committed to renouncing violence as means of getting to where we need to get, which is to free our people of occupation, to end it."
On the peace front, Fayyad said that Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert have started to discuss "political" issues ahead of an international peace conference called by US President George W. Bush for this autumn. "Up until the last meeting, the discussions had focused on transitional issues... day to day issues, not the political ones." "That discussion has started and we are pleased that these issues are being discussed. "It is important to build on that" ahead of the conference.
"We are looking for a serious process... a process leading to a framework agreement where the parameters are clarified, specified." "Then, before the meeting that was called by President Bush, it will be important to give that process an important push forward, toward translating that framework into a concrete agreement that can be implemented." Fayyad said that early elections would eventually be held in the Palestinian territories, but that no date has been set. "We are trying to stabilise the situation to go back to the people," he said. "We'll do that when it's feasible. Is it feasible now? Obviously not." "But elections will take place, both in Gaza and the West Bank."
By Mehdi Lebouachera /AFP
Well...Turkey..
It´s easier to solve other problems than your own..Isn´t it? Easy to talk for others than to have dialogues with the Kurds yourselves? Anyway..One possibility shouldn´t exclude another! Should it?
"We want a united and independent Palestinian state"
The split that happened between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as a result of Hamas's coup is temporary and will be removed," Abbas said. "The Palestinian people are opposed to this separation because we want a united and independent Palestinian state." Abbas said he would continue to work toward reuniting the Palestinians. "We will also continue to support our people in the Gaza Strip, because this is our responsibility," he said.
Sea people
The Sea Peoples were the early semi-literate city states of the Greek Mycenaean civilizations, who destroyed each other in a disastrous series of conflicts lasting several decades.
Decades?
Decades?
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Historical Palestine
The Philistines occupied the five cities of Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, Gath, along the coastal strip of southwestern Canaan, that belonged to Egypt up to the closing days of the Nineteenth Dynasty (ended 1185 BCE.)
It was to Tiglath Pileser III of Assyria by 736 BC, and later to the the Persians Palestinians lost their land! In fact! Yes! It was to Assyria and Persia you lost your Independence!
It was to Tiglath Pileser III of Assyria by 736 BC, and later to the the Persians Palestinians lost their land! In fact! Yes! It was to Assyria and Persia you lost your Independence!
The Philistines settled Philistia along the eastern Mediterranean coast at about the time when the Israelites settled in the Judean highlands
This theory implies that the Philistines were part of this Greek-speaking confederacy. This theory was recently revived by the archeologist Eberhard Zangger in 2001 (earlier in German) that the Sea Peoples were the early semi-literate city states of the Greek Mycenaean civilizations, who destroyed each other in a disastrous series of conflicts lasting several decades.
The Philistines settled Philistia along the eastern Mediterranean coast at about the time when the Israelites settled in the Judean highlands. If the Philistines are to be identified as one of the "Sea Peoples", then their occupation of Canaan will have taken place during the reign of Rameses III of the Twentieth Dynasty, ca. 1180 to 1150 BCE.
Their maritime knowledge presumably would have made them important to the Phoenicians. In Egypt, a people called the "Peleset" (or, more precisely, prst), generally identified with the Philistines, appear in the Medinet Habu inscription of Ramses III , where he describes his victory against the Sea Peoples, as well as the Onomastica of Amenope (late Twentieth Dynasty) and the Great Papyrus Harris (Papyrus Harris I), a summary of Ramses III's reign written in the reign of Ramses IV.
The Philistines occupied the five cities of Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, and Gath, along the coastal strip of southwestern Canaan, that belonged to Egypt up to the closing days of the Nineteenth Dynasty (ended 1185 BCE). The Philistine cities were ruled by seranim, "lords", who acted together for the common good, though to what extent they had a sense of a "nation" is not clear without literary sources. After their defeat by the Israelite King David, kings replaced the seranim, governing from various cities. Some of these kings were called Abimelech.
The Philistines lost their independence to Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria by 736 BC, and revolts in following years were all crushed. Later, Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon eventually conquered all of Syria and the land of Canaan, and the Philistine cities became part of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Subsequently the cities were under the control of Persians, Greeks, and Romans, and "Philistia" was governed as a territory. The name of the region of Palestine comes, via Greek and Latin, from the Philistines.
The Philistines settled Philistia along the eastern Mediterranean coast at about the time when the Israelites settled in the Judean highlands. If the Philistines are to be identified as one of the "Sea Peoples", then their occupation of Canaan will have taken place during the reign of Rameses III of the Twentieth Dynasty, ca. 1180 to 1150 BCE.
Their maritime knowledge presumably would have made them important to the Phoenicians. In Egypt, a people called the "Peleset" (or, more precisely, prst), generally identified with the Philistines, appear in the Medinet Habu inscription of Ramses III , where he describes his victory against the Sea Peoples, as well as the Onomastica of Amenope (late Twentieth Dynasty) and the Great Papyrus Harris (Papyrus Harris I), a summary of Ramses III's reign written in the reign of Ramses IV.
The Philistines occupied the five cities of Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, and Gath, along the coastal strip of southwestern Canaan, that belonged to Egypt up to the closing days of the Nineteenth Dynasty (ended 1185 BCE). The Philistine cities were ruled by seranim, "lords", who acted together for the common good, though to what extent they had a sense of a "nation" is not clear without literary sources. After their defeat by the Israelite King David, kings replaced the seranim, governing from various cities. Some of these kings were called Abimelech.
The Philistines lost their independence to Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria by 736 BC, and revolts in following years were all crushed. Later, Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon eventually conquered all of Syria and the land of Canaan, and the Philistine cities became part of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Subsequently the cities were under the control of Persians, Greeks, and Romans, and "Philistia" was governed as a territory. The name of the region of Palestine comes, via Greek and Latin, from the Philistines.
Maybe so..
Palestinian statehood will have to be through sustained good governance, a clear commitment to fighting terrorism, and a willingness to live in peace with Israel," Giuliani said.
JERUSALEM - Benjamin Netanyahu, fresh off a commanding election win as leader of Israel's hardline Likud Party, vowed Wednesday to shift his efforts toward reclaiming his old job as prime minister.
JERUSALEM - Benjamin Netanyahu, fresh off a commanding election win as leader of Israel's hardline Likud Party, vowed Wednesday to shift his efforts toward reclaiming his old job as prime minister.
"Is it possible to leave command of this ship while it is facing such high waves?" Suleiman asked."
Hizbullah and Amal partisans, rejoicing over a speech by Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah marking the anniversary of the end of last summer's war with Israel, fought pro-government supporters with fists and stones in Beirut. Media reports said Hizbullah and Amal supporters drove across the streets of the capital and the southern suburbs, or Dahiyeh, at the end of Nasrallah's speech shortly before midnight Tuesday, waving flags and blowing horns.They said one convoy of cars and motorcycles clashed with supporters of MP Saad Hariri's Al-Mustaqbal Movement near Abdul Nasser Mosque on the main Mazraa thoroughfare. The two sides traded insults and hurled stones and rocks at each other.Lebanese army troops quickly cordoned off the area and dispersed the antagonists.
Mixed messages
Palestinian militias are preparing for a confrontation with Israel in order to "wipe it off the face of the earth," Hamas's representative in Lebanon, Usama Hamdan, said Wednesday. During an interview with the official Iranian TV channel Al Kausar, Hamdan also said suicide bombings on Israeli buses were justified because they provided transportation and protection to soldiers.
Hamas officials in the Gaza Strip said Tuesday they were encouraged by the "positive" change in the position of some European countries toward the Islamist movement. Meanwhile, Hamas legislator Salah Bardaweel said he expected Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to disappear from the political scene before the end of the year. "After he goes to the international conference in the fall, he will discover that he made a mistake by depending on the Americans and Israelis," he said, referring to the peace conference called by US President George W. Bush. "He will then be forced to resign. Abbas is a dictator and his attempts to undermine Hamas are doomed to fail." Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said his movement was prepared to launch talks with the Europeans without delay. "They are beginning to realize that the boycott of the Hamas government is ineffective and pointless," he said.Hamas, he said, welcomes calls to talk with the Europeans.
Hamas officials in the Gaza Strip said Tuesday they were encouraged by the "positive" change in the position of some European countries toward the Islamist movement. Meanwhile, Hamas legislator Salah Bardaweel said he expected Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to disappear from the political scene before the end of the year. "After he goes to the international conference in the fall, he will discover that he made a mistake by depending on the Americans and Israelis," he said, referring to the peace conference called by US President George W. Bush. "He will then be forced to resign. Abbas is a dictator and his attempts to undermine Hamas are doomed to fail." Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said his movement was prepared to launch talks with the Europeans without delay. "They are beginning to realize that the boycott of the Hamas government is ineffective and pointless," he said.Hamas, he said, welcomes calls to talk with the Europeans.
Bombings that Iraqi officials said killed at least 200 people
BAGHDAD - Rescuers dug through the muddy wreckage of collapsed clay houses in northwest Iraq on Wednesday, uncovering victims of four suicide bombings that Iraqi officials said killed at least 200 people in one of the worst attacks of the war. The victims were members of a small Kurdish sect — the Yazidis — sometimes attacked by Muslim extremists who consider them infidels. It was most vicious attack yet against the Yazidis, an ancient religious community in the region. Yazidis are predominantly ethnic Kurds whose religion blends elements of Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Some 300 people were wounded in the blasts, said Dakhil Qassim, the mayor of the nearby town of Sinjar. Qassim said the four trucks approached the town of Qahataniya, 75 miles west of Mosul, Iraq's third-largest city, from dirt roads and all exploded within minutes of each other. He said the casualty tolls were expected to rise.
"We are still digging with our hands and shovels because we can't use cranes because many of the houses were built of clay," Qassim said. "We are expecting to reach the final death toll tomorrow or day after tomorrow as we are getting only pieces of bodies." The Islamic State in Iraq, an al-Qaida front group, distributed leaflets a week ago warning residents near the scene of Tuesday's bombings that an attack was imminent because Yazidis are "anti-Islamic."
"We are still digging with our hands and shovels because we can't use cranes because many of the houses were built of clay," Qassim said. "We are expecting to reach the final death toll tomorrow or day after tomorrow as we are getting only pieces of bodies." The Islamic State in Iraq, an al-Qaida front group, distributed leaflets a week ago warning residents near the scene of Tuesday's bombings that an attack was imminent because Yazidis are "anti-Islamic."
Close to a million Lebanese were driven from their homes by conflict, during which 125,000 houses and apartments were destroyed or damaged
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Tuesday warned Israel of a "great surprise" in the event of another war between the Lebanese guerrilla group and the Jewish state. Marking the first anniversary of the end of last year's war between Hezbollah and Israel, Nasrallah said his group did not want conflict but described readiness as a duty. The United States and Israel were "beating the drums of war," he said. "If you think -- oh Zionists -- about launching a war on Lebanon, I will not promise you surprises such as those which happened (in the last war), rather I promise you a great surprise which could change the fate of the war and the fate of the region," Nasrallah said in a televised speech.
The Hezbollah chief said he would not reveal what this was. "The Zionists and Americans are beating the drums of war," he said at the start of his speech, addressing tens of thousands of supporters gathered in Beirut to watch him speak on a screen. "God willing there will not be a war. As I have said in previous speeches, we do not want war," Nasrallah said, blaming Israel for last year's conflict, which killed about 1,200 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 158 Israelis, mostly soldiers.
The conflict was triggered on July 12 when Hezbollah, a Shi'ite Muslim Islamist group, launched a raid into northern Israel and captured two soldiers. "If, God forbid, war happens ... we must be ready," Nasrallah said, adding that his remark last month that his group's rockets were capable of hitting any spot in Israel was designed as a deterrent and not to bring on a conflict. "Readiness for war and preparedness for war is the most important means to prevent war," he said.The crowd gathered in Beirut's southern suburbs, the target of a heavy Israeli air campaign in the conflict, waved the flags of Hezbollah and its ally, the Shi'ite Muslim Amal movement.
Close to a million Lebanese were driven from their homes by last year's conflict, during which 125,000 houses and apartments were destroyed or damaged in Lebanon. Hezbollah, which is backed by Syria and Iran, had so far spent $380 million on reconstruction and helping those afflicted by the conflict, Nasrallah said. Hezbollah describes the war's outcome as "The Divine Victory."
The Hezbollah chief said he would not reveal what this was. "The Zionists and Americans are beating the drums of war," he said at the start of his speech, addressing tens of thousands of supporters gathered in Beirut to watch him speak on a screen. "God willing there will not be a war. As I have said in previous speeches, we do not want war," Nasrallah said, blaming Israel for last year's conflict, which killed about 1,200 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 158 Israelis, mostly soldiers.
The conflict was triggered on July 12 when Hezbollah, a Shi'ite Muslim Islamist group, launched a raid into northern Israel and captured two soldiers. "If, God forbid, war happens ... we must be ready," Nasrallah said, adding that his remark last month that his group's rockets were capable of hitting any spot in Israel was designed as a deterrent and not to bring on a conflict. "Readiness for war and preparedness for war is the most important means to prevent war," he said.The crowd gathered in Beirut's southern suburbs, the target of a heavy Israeli air campaign in the conflict, waved the flags of Hezbollah and its ally, the Shi'ite Muslim Amal movement.
Close to a million Lebanese were driven from their homes by last year's conflict, during which 125,000 houses and apartments were destroyed or damaged in Lebanon. Hezbollah, which is backed by Syria and Iran, had so far spent $380 million on reconstruction and helping those afflicted by the conflict, Nasrallah said. Hezbollah describes the war's outcome as "The Divine Victory."
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
"Tomorrow's Pioneers"
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Saraa Barhoum picked at the buttons on her pink bellbottom jeans as she twisted on a chair inside the bustling new Hamas television headquarters. The afternoon light bounced off the sparkly outlines of butterflies on her frilly top, and a colorful hijab framed her 11-year-old face. Saraa wants to be a doctor. If she can't, the young star of Hamas television's best-known children's show said, she'd be proud to become a martyr. Saraa says little Jewish girls should be forced from their homes in Israel so that Palestinians can return to their land. With the show's producer helpfully offering written tips during an interview, Saraa didn't get into how she hopes to die for her cause, be it suicide bombing, fighting the Israeli military or some other way. She carefully sidestepped any suggestion that she's subtly calling for the destruction of Israel .
Saraa is the sweet face of "Tomorrow's Pioneers," a weekly, hour-long Hamas television children's show best known for bringing the world a militant Mickey Mouse look-alike and then having him killed off by an Israeli interrogator. Tomorrow's Pioneers" sparked an international furor in April when it began featuring Farfour, the Mickey Mouse look-alike who sounded more like Iran's firebrand President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad than a Disney character. After two months, Farfour was beaten to death on the show by an Israeli interrogator. Nahoul, a larger-than-life bee, is now carrying his message. "A lot of people in Palestine have died as martyrs, and lots of Palestinians hope to be martyrs," Saraa said of Farfour's demise. "This is one of the ends." Asked if she hoped one day to be a martyr, Saraa instinctively nodded her head. "Of course," Saraa said. "It's something to be proud of. Every Palestinian citizen hopes to be a martyr."
Saraa helps deliver similar messages to Palestinian children from a Hamas TV set filled with colorful numbers and pictures of kittens. During the show, Saraa fields calls from Palestinian children who warble songs about Islam, liberating Jerusalem and finding answers in the barrel of a machine gun. Hamas television officials defend the show, saying it's designed to help young children connect with their country and their God. We don't want to surrender," Saraa told the caller. "We want to resist." On the show, Saraa offers moral lessons to viewers and urges them to do what they can to fight Israeli occupation. After some prodding in an interview, Saraa offered a personal message for Israeli girls her age. "They have to leave," she said. "This is our country. They kicked us out and stole our happiness. This is a natural result."
Within minutes, an explosion hit the building, rattling windows and sending Saraa and the staff rushing outside. At first, no one was sure if it was an accident or an Israeli airstrike. Then, it became clear that the blast was caused by an Israeli missile that missed a car filled with militants and slammed into an empty bedroom on the top floor of a three-story partment building. Standing outside the Hamas building with her producer protectively putting his arm around her shoulders, Saraa looked pensive and anxious. Hamas camera crews and an ambulance rushed down the block. Saraa kept quiet and gazed down the street. The coached revolutionary rhetoric disappeared. Instead, she looked like any frightened young girl caught up in events beyond her control. Then, after it was clear that no one had been killed in the airstrike, Saraa and her producer headed back upstairs to prepare for the next episode of "Tomorrow's Pioneers."
By Dion Nissenbaum, McClatchy Newspapers
Saraa is the sweet face of "Tomorrow's Pioneers," a weekly, hour-long Hamas television children's show best known for bringing the world a militant Mickey Mouse look-alike and then having him killed off by an Israeli interrogator. Tomorrow's Pioneers" sparked an international furor in April when it began featuring Farfour, the Mickey Mouse look-alike who sounded more like Iran's firebrand President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad than a Disney character. After two months, Farfour was beaten to death on the show by an Israeli interrogator. Nahoul, a larger-than-life bee, is now carrying his message. "A lot of people in Palestine have died as martyrs, and lots of Palestinians hope to be martyrs," Saraa said of Farfour's demise. "This is one of the ends." Asked if she hoped one day to be a martyr, Saraa instinctively nodded her head. "Of course," Saraa said. "It's something to be proud of. Every Palestinian citizen hopes to be a martyr."
Saraa helps deliver similar messages to Palestinian children from a Hamas TV set filled with colorful numbers and pictures of kittens. During the show, Saraa fields calls from Palestinian children who warble songs about Islam, liberating Jerusalem and finding answers in the barrel of a machine gun. Hamas television officials defend the show, saying it's designed to help young children connect with their country and their God. We don't want to surrender," Saraa told the caller. "We want to resist." On the show, Saraa offers moral lessons to viewers and urges them to do what they can to fight Israeli occupation. After some prodding in an interview, Saraa offered a personal message for Israeli girls her age. "They have to leave," she said. "This is our country. They kicked us out and stole our happiness. This is a natural result."
Within minutes, an explosion hit the building, rattling windows and sending Saraa and the staff rushing outside. At first, no one was sure if it was an accident or an Israeli airstrike. Then, it became clear that the blast was caused by an Israeli missile that missed a car filled with militants and slammed into an empty bedroom on the top floor of a three-story partment building. Standing outside the Hamas building with her producer protectively putting his arm around her shoulders, Saraa looked pensive and anxious. Hamas camera crews and an ambulance rushed down the block. Saraa kept quiet and gazed down the street. The coached revolutionary rhetoric disappeared. Instead, she looked like any frightened young girl caught up in events beyond her control. Then, after it was clear that no one had been killed in the airstrike, Saraa and her producer headed back upstairs to prepare for the next episode of "Tomorrow's Pioneers."
By Dion Nissenbaum, McClatchy Newspapers
Tzipi Livni said it would be a "big mistake" for the international community to try to bridge differences between Hamas and Fatah
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel said on Tuesday it would be a "big mistake" for the international community to try to bridge differences between Hamas Islamists and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's secular Fatah faction. Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni was responding to calls from Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi and British parliamentarians for dialogue with Hamas, whose fighters routed Fatah and seized control of the Gaza Strip in June.
"I know that it looks tempting and I know that the international community is eager to see a kind of an understanding between Hamas and Fatah," Livni told a news conference with visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso. Livni said the international community's role was critical and "any compromise with terror, any compromise with these extremists, can lead to undermining the new government in the Palestinian Authority."
"The idea is that now there is a chance in the dialogue between Israel and the new Palestinian government. We can reach something. It's there," Livni said. During their meeting last week, Olmert assured Abbas he would begin to remove some of the roadblocks that restrict Palestinian travel in the West Bank, Palestinian officials said. But senior Abbas aide Saeb Erekat, who had expected to receive a roadblock removal plan from Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak this week, said: "They told us they're not ready yet. I'm really disappointed."
"I know that it looks tempting and I know that the international community is eager to see a kind of an understanding between Hamas and Fatah," Livni told a news conference with visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso. Livni said the international community's role was critical and "any compromise with terror, any compromise with these extremists, can lead to undermining the new government in the Palestinian Authority."
"The idea is that now there is a chance in the dialogue between Israel and the new Palestinian government. We can reach something. It's there," Livni said. During their meeting last week, Olmert assured Abbas he would begin to remove some of the roadblocks that restrict Palestinian travel in the West Bank, Palestinian officials said. But senior Abbas aide Saeb Erekat, who had expected to receive a roadblock removal plan from Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak this week, said: "They told us they're not ready yet. I'm really disappointed."
We can not manage without the rain forests..
SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea is seeking foreign help after massive flooding left hundreds dead or missing and swept away many buildings, a U.N. aid agency spokesman said on Tuesday. North Korea, which has struggled with chronic food shortages for years, said in a report early on Tuesday that floodwaters caused "tens of thousands of hectares of farmland (to be) inundated, buried under silt and washed away." Paul Risley, Asia spokesman with the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP), said: "If the figures are borne out by our own assessment, then we are very concerned that this is a significant emergency crisis. Later on Tuesday, North Korea's official KCNA news agency said coal mining pits, power lines and substations had also been inundated or damaged.Three big storms hit North Korea in 2006, and a pro-Pyongyang newspaper reported that more than 800 people were killed or went missing in the resulting floods. South Korea's Unification Ministry said it expected damage to be worse than last year. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said it was on 24-hour alert to monitor damage.
KCNA said at least 800 public buildings and more than 540 bridges had been washed away, while sections of railroad had been destroyed and thousands of homes ruined. It also reported that scores of coal pits were submerged and many facilities destroyed. More than 500 high voltage power towers collapsed, five electric power substations of large capacity were inundated, and more than 10 transformers and other facilities severely damaged, KCNA added. The communist state's infrastructure outside of showcase projects in the capital Pyongyang, is mostly a shambles. North Korea has few funds for building and still uses power and rail lines built during Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule. The flooding has hit most of the southern half of North Korea and includes the capital and some of its most productive agricultural regions. More rain is forecast for those areas over the next few days.
KCNA said at least 800 public buildings and more than 540 bridges had been washed away, while sections of railroad had been destroyed and thousands of homes ruined. It also reported that scores of coal pits were submerged and many facilities destroyed. More than 500 high voltage power towers collapsed, five electric power substations of large capacity were inundated, and more than 10 transformers and other facilities severely damaged, KCNA added. The communist state's infrastructure outside of showcase projects in the capital Pyongyang, is mostly a shambles. North Korea has few funds for building and still uses power and rail lines built during Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule. The flooding has hit most of the southern half of North Korea and includes the capital and some of its most productive agricultural regions. More rain is forecast for those areas over the next few days.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Death squads and plotting a 'genocide' against Sunni Arabs.
Adnan al-Dulaimi, a leader of the Accordance Front Party, speaks as he stands in between Alaa Makki (L) and Khalif Alyan, fellow members in the political party, during a news conference in Baghdad, July 25, 2007. One of Iraq's senior Sunni Arab leaders accused Iran on Monday of sponsoring Shi'ite death squads and plotting a 'genocide' against Sunni Arabs.
West Bank and Gaza
We do realize that Gaza needs to be a part of a Palestinian state. And that is not so much the Palestinian people that are divided but Fatah and Hamas politicians. As we can see that Hamas and their jihadists not have the same agenda as Fatah and acting against the will of most Palestinians it is very much their own responsibility that there are divisions. Everyone have the right to speak..but as long as Hamas militants and Islamic jihad disrespecting the internationally community and everyone that works with peace meetings and conferences with firing rockets and hostile talking such as "the enemies" and "armed struggle" etc..they puts themselves out of the process. No one else puts them there but themselves!
We are very much tired of talking about peace a Palestinian state and refugees and get rockets and resistance for a answer! We are very much tired to travel around the world, working hard and get this disrespect in return. And this continuing obstacles and working against peace, the internationally community and the Palestinians interests! So it´s time to be constructive and talk with those that are talk able! You can not talk peace with people and get 250 rockets under a "truce" back! You can not talk peace with people that don´t want peace! They should have 250 rockets back! Yes they should receive what they gives! Why should Hamas and jihadists militants be a exception from any one else?
You can not talk peace with people that have made up-fantasy-jihad as a religion! you can not talk peace with people that don´t want anything but destruction over themselves!
Where on earth can you fire 250 rockets against some one else and don´t get a rocket or some other action for a defence back for a answer?
We have had enough of daaaadaaa googgoo da..and just get used and disrespected! Yes..Hamas should grow up and that fast! Because there will be no more screaming of human rights and breaking human rights at the same time! Or incite violence and "resistance" while Palestinians trying to restore order getting shot! There will be no more using Egypt or the internationally community there will be nothing..without any signs of stopping this manipulations, hostility and firing rockets and daaaaddaa!
We are very much tired of talking about peace a Palestinian state and refugees and get rockets and resistance for a answer! We are very much tired to travel around the world, working hard and get this disrespect in return. And this continuing obstacles and working against peace, the internationally community and the Palestinians interests! So it´s time to be constructive and talk with those that are talk able! You can not talk peace with people and get 250 rockets under a "truce" back! You can not talk peace with people that don´t want peace! They should have 250 rockets back! Yes they should receive what they gives! Why should Hamas and jihadists militants be a exception from any one else?
You can not talk peace with people that have made up-fantasy-jihad as a religion! you can not talk peace with people that don´t want anything but destruction over themselves!
Where on earth can you fire 250 rockets against some one else and don´t get a rocket or some other action for a defence back for a answer?
We have had enough of daaaadaaa googgoo da..and just get used and disrespected! Yes..Hamas should grow up and that fast! Because there will be no more screaming of human rights and breaking human rights at the same time! Or incite violence and "resistance" while Palestinians trying to restore order getting shot! There will be no more using Egypt or the internationally community there will be nothing..without any signs of stopping this manipulations, hostility and firing rockets and daaaaddaa!
Members of the Hamas Executive Force attend a rally in Gaza, August 12, 2007. Photo by Mohammed Salem/Reuters
Hare Krishna Haree haree! Iran´s rewritten religion-jihad-fantasy, Hezbollah-al-Sadr, psychopaths in Qatar, Hamas, al-Qaida..same shit!
It´s time for those pointing-finger-people to realize they are just being used! Yes..Take a good look what have become of them! Puppet dolls without being able to even think for themselves, living at the edge of disaster and destruction!
Well..Stop kill each other then!
BAGHDAD - Iraq's most senior Sunni politician issued a desperate appeal Sunday for Arab nations to help stop what he called an "unprecedented genocide campaign" by Shiite militias armed, trained and controlled by Iran. "Arabs, your brothers in the land of the two rivers and in Baghdad in particular are exposed to an unprecedented genocide campaign by the militias and death squads that are directed, armed and supported by Iran," al-Dulaimi said.
It´s mutual killings..Isn´t it? We see a lot of bombings against the Shiites as well as killings of Sunnis. there have been a genocide going on for a long time against the Shiites! And as we can see there are armed militias killing Shiites as well! And bombings against the Kurds! Yes..Everyone killing everyone..Like there is nothing else some of you can do! Humpf! And it sure will not be better off with Sunni politicians pulling out from their seats and don´t participate in meetings in the communities! Yes..We do notice that Muqtada al-Sadr and his militia cares about stability in Iraq as much as Nasrallah cares about stability in Lebanon..That would mean nothing so what ever..So instead of just complaining you should work with Shiite politicians to get stability! And get your a***** out on those meetings! Shouldn´t you?
It´s mutual killings..Isn´t it? We see a lot of bombings against the Shiites as well as killings of Sunnis. there have been a genocide going on for a long time against the Shiites! And as we can see there are armed militias killing Shiites as well! And bombings against the Kurds! Yes..Everyone killing everyone..Like there is nothing else some of you can do! Humpf! And it sure will not be better off with Sunni politicians pulling out from their seats and don´t participate in meetings in the communities! Yes..We do notice that Muqtada al-Sadr and his militia cares about stability in Iraq as much as Nasrallah cares about stability in Lebanon..That would mean nothing so what ever..So instead of just complaining you should work with Shiite politicians to get stability! And get your a***** out on those meetings! Shouldn´t you?
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