Palestinian demonstrators clashed with Israeli soldiers on Friday at a rally held in support of a prisoner observing an intermittent hunger strike to protest his incarceration.
The Israeli military said about 200 Palestinians threw rocks at soldiers who responded with tear gas during the rally outside Ofer prison in the West Bank. The protesters called for the release of Samer Issawi, who has been on an on-again, off-again hunger strike for several months as he serves time for alleged terror activity.
Abbas seeks world help to save Palestinians on hunger strike
Media Outlet:
Oman Tribune
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas late on Tuesday called on the international community to intervene urgently in support of Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike in Israeli jails.
“Things may get out of control if the lives of the hunger strikers are not saved,” Abbas said on Palestinian television.
“We ask the international community to respond effectively to ease the situation, otherwise it will be impossible to control and it will deteriorate across the Palestinian territories.
Palestinian prisoners in Israel go on hunger-strike
Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel went on a one-day hunger strike Thursday in solidarity with six mates who have been fasting for months.
The Ramallah-based Palestinian Prisoner' Club said in a statement that 360 prisoners in three Israeli jails have gone on the hunger strike, and that most of them are affiliated to Islamic Jihad movement.
All Palestinian prisoners in Israel, totaling up to some 4,500, will join the hunger strikers on Tuesday, the statement added.
UN officials voice concern over health of Palestinian detainees on hunger strike
Media Outlet:
United Nations News Service
Two senior United Nations officials today voiced their concern about Palestinian detainees in Israeli custody, particularly following reports of the fast deteriorating health conditions of several who have been on hunger strike.
Swedish photographer wins World Press Photo award
Article Author(s):
Toby Sterling
Media Outlet:
The Associated Press
Swedish photographer Paul Hansen won the 2012 World Press Photo award Friday for newspaper Dagens Nyheter with a picture of two Palestinian children killed in an Israeli missile strike being carried to their funeral.
The picture shows a group of men marching the dead bodies through a narrow street in Gaza City. The victims, a brother and sister, are wrapped in white cloth with only their faces showing.
2 injured by Israeli fire in north Gaza
Media Outlet:
Ma'an News Agency
Two young Palestinian men were injured by Israeli fire in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday, medics said.
A 20-year-old man was hit in the chest by gunfire east of Beit Hanoun, and is a moderate to serious condition, Gaza health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said.
Another man, aged 22, was shot in the hand in the same incident and has moderate injuries, al-Qidra said. The pair are being treated in Beit Hanoun hospital.
Palestinian stabbed to death in Rishon Lezion
Article Author(s):
Eli Senyor
A stabbing at a Rishon Lezion construction site left a 25-year-old Palestinian dead. The worker was evacuated to the Assaf Harofeh Medical Center early Friday morning after sustaining knife wounds to the chest. He succumbed to his wounds while on the operating table.
An initial investigation led the authorities to take one city resident in for questioning.
4 Border Guards convicted of abusing helpless Palestinian
Article Author(s):
Elior Levy
Four Border Guard officers were convicted Thursday on charges of aggravated assault and abuse of a helpless person for their involvement in a 2009 incident in which they abused a Palestinian near a Givat Ze'ev checkpoint.
Bulgaria expels visiting Hamas delegation
Bulgarian authorities forced a visiting Hamas delegation to leave the country Friday, the Palestinian Islamic movement said.
In a statement, Hamas said security forces stormed the hotel where the three Hamas officials have been staying since Wednesday and transferred them to the airport.
Hamas added that the move came as a result of Israel's pressure on Sofia.
The delegation was expected to stay for three more days to meet with Bulgarian parliamentarians and party leaders.
Union: No date set for payment of PA salaries
Media Outlet:
Ma'an News Agency
The Palestinian Authority will pay government salaries for January in a week, but has yet to specify a date, the public sector workers union said Thursday.
Union chief Bassam Zakarneh insisted the PA must set a date to pay January wages, after a meeting with ministers in Ramallah.
Zakarneh said in a statement that the union informed a ministerial committee that government staff were struggling to buy basic necessities and could not afford transport to work.
Zakarneh called on civil servants not to strike unless further action is announced.
Israelis, Egyptians discuss security in Cairo
Article Author(s):
Ariel Ben Solomon
Media Outlet:
The Jerusalem Post
An Israeli delegation departed from Cairo on Thursday evening after meeting Egyptian officials to discuss security issues in Sinai, the alleged Israeli strike in Syria, and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, the Egyptian website Al-Shorouk reported Friday.
Israeli on UK team barred from entering Dubai
Media Outlet:
Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
An Israeli soccer player for a British club is being forced to skip a team visit to Dubai because of the United Arab Emirates’ policy on Israelis entering the country.
The 25-year-old striker, Itay Schechter, who plays for Swansea City, was prevented from attending the six-day group tra
The United Arab Emirates does not have diplomatic ties with Israel, and Israeli passport holders can be arrested and deported upon entering if they lack a special visa. Dubai is one of the UAE’s seven emirates, or city-states.
The Success That Failed
Article Author(s):
Roger Cohen
Media Outlet:
The New York Times
The most progressive and innovative Palestinian thinker on a Middle East peace settlement has been steadily isolated over the past several years. Undercut by Israel, undermined by his own people’s factionalism, unable to meet even once with President Obama, this dynamic Palestinian leader is now close to the end of his rope.
A Zionism of the left
Article Author(s):
Rami Livni
The election results strengthened the following message: The left's return to power must include its renewed presence in debates about Zionism . To that end, the left must create a new, liberal and up-to-date perception of Zionism. It must be an alternative to the insular distorted Zionism of the right - disconnected from reality - which has served a minority of Jews throughout history.
Chuck Hagel's confirmation and the orthodoxy of US debate on Israel
Article Author(s):
Michael Cohen
Media Outlet:
The Guardian
This week, former Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel achieved a rather dubious accomplishment: he became the first nominee for Secretary of Defense to be filibustered by the United States Senate.
Gazans need a new lifeline from stifling blockade
Media Outlet:
The National
Since Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, Israel has inflicted collective punishment on Palestinians in an attempt to weaken support for the armed group. As part of this, Israel has severely limited the importation of goods into Gaza, putting ordinary Palestinians on what Israeli officials once euphemistically termed "a diet".
Obama’s Retreat in Parallel to the Arabs’ Surprise
Article Author(s):
Zuheir Kseibati
The North Korean nuclear experiment was not good news for President Barack Obama, a few hours before the delivery of his State of the Union address. Indeed, now is the time for a “diplomatic solution” which would draw up the roadmap for some sort of a deal with Iran over its nuclear file. And the solution wanted by Obama and the West must guarantee Israel’s security.
Kerry says it like it is
Article Author(s):
George S. Hishmeh
Under American tutelage, history (almost) repeats itself for both the Palestinians and Israelis. President Barack Obama will be travelling next month to Israel, much like what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did four years ago when he met the American president for the first time during his first weeks at the White House.
What Obama can achieve with Israel trip
Article Author(s):
Frida Ghitis
Media Outlet:
The Miami Herald
Next month, two months into his second term, President Barack Obama will arrive in Israel, beginning a Middle East trip whose objective is muddled by the turmoil in the region. What exactly does Obama seek to achieve?
Any presidential trip begins long before Air Force One leaves the hangar. While the advance travel officials work out the details of the itinerary, the policy, politics and press people are already crafting their desired narrative. Item one on the agenda this time is lowering expectations.
Erekat: No Settlement Freeze Means No Negotiations
Article Author(s):
Shlomi Eldar
Israel is waiting for President Barack Obama. Social networks across the internet are full of petitions and “likes,” pleading with the president to give a speech about peace to the Israeli masses gathered in Rabin Square.
The distant drums of intifada
Article Author(s):
Amos Harel
The public debate Americans have been conducting recently about the implications of the worldwide war they are waging against Islamic terror is not confined to the decade between September 11, 2001, and the assassination of Osama bin Laden, or to the two four-year terms of President George W. Bush. The Americans are also discussing and implementing far-reaching measures in that war during the second term of Barack Obama. It was the Obama administration that formulated a directive permitting the president to authorize the assassination abroad, without trial, of U.S.
Leila Khaled, the 1970s Palestinian revolutionary, is still passionate
Article Author(s):
Jennifer Jajeh
Media Outlet:
The National
It looks like Leila Khaled has stood me up. It's my last day in Amman, and she's arranged to meet me in front of the Sofra restaurant at noon. It's now 12:45pm. Tired of the unwanted attention I'm receiving as a woman standing alone on the street, I duck into Café des Artistes next door and order an overpriced espresso in the hope they'll let me use their phone to call her again. She answers this time and tells me she is stuck at a meeting for the Palestinian National Council, but will meet me in another 30 minutes.
Links:
[1] http://www.americantaskforce.org/print/30346
[2] http://www.americantaskforce.org/printmail/30346
[3] http://www.americantaskforce.org/printpdf/30346
[4] http://www.americantaskforce.org/rss/wpr
[5] https://www.americantaskforce.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=1
[6] http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/15/world/middleeast/israels-prisoner-x-linked-to-dubai-assassination-in-new-report.html?ref=middleeast&_r=0
[7] http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/h/hamas/index.html?inline=nyt-org
[8] http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4345404,00.html
[9] http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4345062,00.html
[10] http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4345371,00.html
[11] http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4345115,00.html
[12] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/mossad-the-service-thats-really-secret-8496011.html
[13] http://www.statesman.com/ap/ap/top-news/palestinian-rally-for-hunger-striker-turns-violent/nWP8m/
[14] http://www.omantribune.com/index.php?page=news&id=137996&heading=Other Top Stories
[15] http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-02/14/c_132168887.htm
[16] http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=44134&Cr=&Cr1=#.UR5NlJjeK9K
[17] http://www.statesman.com/ap/ap/top-news/swedish-photographer-wins-world-press-photo-award/nWP6s/
[18] http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=565337
[19] http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4345347,00.html
[20] http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4306201,00.html
[21] http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4345176,00.html
[22] http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4319188,00.html
[23] http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4163327,00.html
[24] http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-02/15/c_132170210.htm
[25] http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=303394
[26] http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=303384
[27] http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/15/opinion/global/roger-cohen-The-Story-of-Palestinian-Prime-Minister-Salam-Fayyad-.html?_r=0
[28] http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/a-zionism-of-the-left.premium-1.503463
[29] http://www.haaretz.com/misc/tags/Zionism-1.477093
[30] http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/feb/14/chuck-hagel-confirmation-orthodoxy-debate-israel
[31] http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/chuck-hagel
[32] http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/usa
[33] http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/editorial/gazans-need-a-new-lifeline-from-stifling-blockade
[34] http://alhayat.com/Details/483060
[35] http://gulfnews.com/opinions/columnists/kerry-says-it-like-it-is-1.1146400
[36] http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/02/14/3235106/what-obama-can-achieve-with-israel.html
[37] http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/02/saeb-erekat-a-freeze-on-settlement-is-a-precondition-for-n.html
[38] http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/week-s-end/the-distant-drums-of-intifada.premium-1.503709
[39] http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/leila-khaled-the-1970s-palestinian-revolutionary-is-still-passionate
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