palashcbiswas,
gostokanan, sodepur, kolkata-700110 phone:033-25659551
From: Shadi Fadda <f_shadi@yahoo.com>
To: president@whitehouse.gov
Cc: enquiry@dfid.gov.uk; inquiries@un.org
Sent: Friday, 5 June, 2009 22:09:40
Subject: [Peoples War] Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines June 05, 2009 ~
Land Theft/Destruction
Settlers unveil new "Obama" outpost in the West Bank
Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies - Israeli settlers established a new illegal West Bank outpost on Thursday, dedicating it partly to US President Barack Obama.
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=38330
Palestine Monitor bids farewell to Bassam Ibrahim Abu Rahmeh
http://www.palestin emonitor. org/spip/ spip.php? article973
Violence/Siege Related Deaths/Aggression
OPT: Infant dies as Israel prevents him from leaving Gaza strip to undergo medical treatment in East Jerusalem
At around 7.30am on 3 June 2009, seven-month- old Zein Ad-Din Mohammed Zu'rob died in the intensive care unit at European Gaza Hospital in Khan Younis. Medical sources at the hospital reported to Al Mezan that he died as a result of respiratory system and heart failure. According to Al Mezan investigations, Zein's family obtained a medical referral for him to undergo medical treatment at Al-Maqasid Charity Hospital in East Jerusalem for 30 days starting from 18 May 2009.
http://www.reliefwe b.int/rw/ rwb.nsf/db900SID /JBRN-7SPGXG? OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P
Palestinian shot dead by Israeli troops at West Bank protest
Bethlehem - Ma'an - A Palestinian demonstrator was killed and another injured after Israeli forces opened fire at an anti-wall rally in the West Bank village of Ni'lin on Friday. The slain Palestinian was identified as Yousef Akel Sadiq Srour, 36.
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=38333
The military attack Bil'in weekly protest injuring five civilians
Five protesters were injured and dozens surfed from Gaza inhalation when Israeli troops attack the weekly protest in Bil'in village near the central West Bank city of Ramallah on Friday.
http://www.imemc. org/article/ 60699
Israeli warships open fire at fishing boats off Gaza coast
Gaza – Ma'an – Israel's navy fired on boats off the short of Gaza City on Friday morning, but no damage or injuries were immediately reported. Witnesses said the ships, which contribute to Israel's ongoing blockade of the besieged coastal strip, often open fire on vessels sailing near the coast, preventing a major source of income for Gaza's residents. [end]
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=38322
When Settlers Attack
Joharah Baker - MIFTAH - " heavily armed settlers, who have equally heavily armed Israeli soldiers guarding them around the clock, have the freedom to take the law into their own hands whenever they deem in necessary. This week`s incidents only further support this point. Palestinians have no legal recourse against settler rampages. Their lands are burned. Their livelihood ruined, their orchards damaged and their sons and daughters attacked. "
http://www.miftah. org/Display. cfm?DocId= 19761&CategoryID=3
Detentions (more under Fatah Collaboration section)
Soldiers seize Palestinian and his daughter in Hebron
Hebron – Ma'an – Israeli soldiers detained a Palestinian man and his daughter for around two hours near the illegal Israeli settlement of Kiryat Arba on Thursday. Local sources told Ma'an's correspondent that "while 50-year-old Abed Al-Karim Al-Ja'bari and his 22-year-old daughter Suhair were working on their land an Israeli military jeep loaded wth border guards came and detained them." The Israeli settlers had previously erected a tent on Al-Ja'bari's land, which was removed under orders from Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak. [end]
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=38327
Two Palestinians seized in Nablus-area village
Nablus – Ma'an – Israeli troops detained two young men from Madama village south of Nablus after storming several houses on Friday at dawn. A member at the village council, Hassan Zyadeh, told Ma'an in Nablus that troops detained Bashir Zyadeh, 24, and Aktham Nassar, 22, after raiding their houses. [end]
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=38323
War Crimes
Inside Story - Israel's boycott of UN mission - 04 June 09
A UN team investigating possible war crimes in Gaza, led by Richard Goldstone, is in the Strip on a week-long fact finding mission. They had to enter from Egypt after Israel failed to grant visas, despite repeated requests by the UN. With Israel boycotting the commission, can the UN mission investigate alleged violations of international law, and can UN investigations in the Gaza strip lead to any prosecutions?
http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=t6lI-g2qrkM
UN to hold public war crimes hearings in Gaza
A UN team investigating possible war crimes by Israel and Hamas during the Gaza war has announced it will hold two days of public hearings in Gaza later this month.
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1090452. html
UN committee chief 'amazed' by Gaza destruction
Head of team investigating recent war between Israel and Hamas says will hold two days of public hearings in Strip, claims Israel not cooperating with probe.
http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 3726552,00. html
Goldstone expresses sad feelings after seeing Gaza destruction
GAZA, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Richard Goldstone, Head of the United Nations inquiry team to investigate the outcome of the Israeli military offensive on Gaza, expressed on Thursday his sad feelings after seeing the destruction caused by Israel.
http://news. xinhuanet. com/english/ 2009-06/04/ content_11489320 .htm
Goldstone: Israeli refusal will not stop Gaza probe
Bethlehem – Ma'an – The head of a UN fact-finding mission to Gaza said on Thursday that he would continue his investigation into alleged war crimes in spite of Israeli noncompliance. Speaking at a news conference in Gaza, Justice Richard Goldstone said Israel was approached a number of times seeking its cooperation in the inquiry into the three-week attack on Gaza in December and January. "The response," he said, "was a complete refusal."
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=38310
UN hearings to be held on Gaza war crimes
A UN team investigating possible war crimes in Gaza says it will hold public hearings with victims of the conflict in Gaza and Geneva later this month...A fact-finding team commissioned by the Arab League said there was sufficient evidence for the Israeli military to be prosecuted for war crimes and crimes against humanity, and that "the Israeli political leadership was also responsible for such crimes."
http://news. bbc.co.uk/ 2/hi/middle_ east/8084734. stm
Haniyeh meets with UN fact-finding mission head Goldstone
Gaza – Ma'an – De facto Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on Thursday night met with the head of a UN fact-finding mission investigating alleged Israeli war crimes in Gaza. The Hamas-affiliated leader met Justice Richard Goldstone, and the two discussed claims of Israeli aggression toward Gazans and allegations of war crimes in the latest assault on Gaza, in addition to the ongoing siege.
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=38319
Humanitarian Issues/Human Rights Violations/Discrimi nation/Siege
PCHR Weekly Report: 2 Palestinians killed, 4 civilians injured by Israeli forces this week
According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, during the week of 28 May- 03 June 2009, two Palestinians were killed – one by Israeli troops and one by an Israeli settler. 4 Palestinian civilians, including two children and a journalist were wounded by Israeli gunfire. Israeli forces conducted 24 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. During those incursions, troops abducted 19 Palestinian civilians, and turned two homes into military sites. Israeli forces positioned at military checkpoints in the West Bank abducted three Palestinians.
http://www.imemc. org/article/ 60695
Palestinian psychologists: 98% of Gaza children lost security due to war on Gaza
Palestinian psychologists have warned Wednesday that 98% of the Palestinian children in Gaza Strip were suffering of psychological traumas, and feel unsafe due to the brutal Israeli war on Gaza.
http://www.palestin e-info.co. uk/En/
OPT: Rebuilding Gaza - putting people before politics
In June 2009 the blockade on the Gaza Strip enters its third year. The intense closure policy, coupled with the government of Israel's recent military operation 'Cast Lead', has had a devastating impact on the lives and livelihoods of one and a half million Gazans, pushing them further into poverty and aid dependency.
http://www.reliefwe b.int/rw/ rwb.nsf/db900SID /JBRN-7SPC3M? OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P
OPT: Gaza building project experiments with clay, rubble
GAZA CITY, 4 June 2009 (IRIN) - In the face of the ongoing Israeli ban on imports of building materials Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are looking at new building methods, and one project is using clay and rubble.
http://www.reliefwe b.int/rw/ rwb.nsf/db900SID /PSLG-7SPC3E? OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P
OPT: Sewage warning to swimmers, fishermen
GAZA CITY, 5 June 2009 (IRIN) - The World Health Organization (WHO) in the Gaza Strip, in conjunction with the Gaza health ministry, began a public awareness campaign this week to warn swimmers and fishermen of raw sewage discharges, and the potential dangers.
http://www.irinnews .org/Report. aspx?ReportId= 84719
Chronic Disease under Occupation
It is easy to understand how devastating it is for a young person to suddenly discover that he or she has a serious disease. Hence, it is less easy to comprehend how this sad moment can be just the beginning of a drama for people in Palestine. The occupation of Palestine affects every aspect of the daily lives of Palestinians, and healthcare is certainly no exception. The Palestinian health care system has transformed from civil society providing health care services – mainly primary health care – into a governmental system introduced in 1995. Hence, the health care system in the occupied Palestinian Territories is fairly recent. However and due to the Israeli occupation, it has been totally crippled and is unable to meet the needs of its population, forcing patients and their families to rely on attracting international aid in order to receive medical attention.
http://www.palestin emonitor. org/spip/ spip.php? article976
Life in Gaza
More than four months after Gaza was devastated by a massive Israeli military bombardment, rebuilding has been slow to come. The problem is not a lack of funding or will. However, an Israeli-led blockade has kept all rebuilding materials, including concrete or any tools that could be used to rebuild the hundreds of homes and buildings here, out of Gaza. The border entries, controlled by the Israeli and Egyptian governments, are sealed to almost all traffic.
http://dissidentvoi ce.org/2009/ 06/life-in- gaza/
Saving the orphans
BLESSED with courage, humanity, a Lebanese background and the support of a British newspaper, Hala Jaber had the credentials to spell out the true ugliness of "collateral damage" in the Iraqi war. When the Sunday Times, among other newspapers, established a fund to help injured civilians, Ms Jaber and her photographer husband Steve set out to find stories that would pierce hearts and empty wallets. It was an all too easy commission.
http://www.economis t.com/books/ displaystory. cfm?story_ id=13777102&fsrc=rss
Galilee communities: We`re not racist, we just don`t want Arabs
Residents of the Misgav bloc of communities in the Galilee consider themselves to be liberal, peace-loving people who support coexistence with their Arab neighbors and even root for Bnei Sakhnin, the soccer club based in a nearby Arab town considered a prominent symbol of that community. Which is why they were shocked this week when proposals raised at local council meetings to accept only applicants who shared their Zionist principles drew negative headlines and criticism for alleged racism.
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1090527. html
Refugees
VIDEO: For Palestinians, a Chance to Get Out and Play
http://www.washingt onpost.com/ wp-dyn/content/ gallery/2009/ 06/04/GA20090604 04394.html
Fatah Collaborators
PA military court sentences Hamas men to three years
Ramallah – Ma'an – The Hamas movement said that a Palestinian Authority military court in the West Bank city of Ramallah sentenced three Hamas affiliates to three years imprisonment on Thursday. The head of the PA military court, Abed Al-Aziz Wadi, confirmed the sentence to Ma'an, yet denied that this decision was taken due to the defendants' affiliation with Hamas, instead for what he called illegal acts, including incitement against the PA.
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=38311
Hamas: PA detained seven affiliates in the West Bank
Salfit - Ma'an - The Hamas movement on Thursday said Palestinian Authority security services detained seven affiliates in the West Bank in recent days. The group said in a statement, "The security services detained Sa'id Sabry and Amar Saman from Qalqiliya, Mokdad Abo-Jehesha from Hebron, Layth Al-Autely and Yousif Al-Malah from Tulkarem, Sabry Thokan from Nablus, and Al-Sheikh Mahmoud Sawlha from the town of Kafr Ra'y near Jenin."
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=38331
Abbas security forces arrest 10 militants in West Bank
RAMALLAH, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Islamic Hamas movement said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' security forces arrested on Friday seven of its members and three members of the Islamic Jihad movement.
http://news. xinhuanet. com/english/ 2009-06/05/ content_11494984 .htm
Political Developments
West Bank Hamas lawmakers denounce Qalqiliya events
Bethlehem – Ma'an – Several Hamas-affiliated Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) members denounced the latest bloodshed in Qalqiliya on Thursday, according to a joint letter sent to Ma'an. In the message, the Hamas officials "strongly denounced" the events in Qalqiliya, which claimed the lives of two Hamas fighters and one Palestinian Authority police officer, among others who were injured.
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=38314
Hamas: We will avenge Qalqilya deaths
Islamist group vows retaliation against Palestinian Authority for the killing of its operatives in two separate clashed in West Bank city.
http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 3726517,00. html
Hamas Says Prisoner Swap Talks Have Resumed
Hamas resistance movement confirmed on Thursday that its representatives have traveled to Cairo for talks on the fate of captured Israeli occupation soldier Gilad Shalit. A Hamas official in the Gaza Strip said that "a number of Hamas operatives" had been summoned by the Egyptian authorities as part of renewed efforts to reach agreement with Israel over a prisoner exchange.
http://almanar. com.lb/NewsSite/ NewsDetails. aspx?id=88701&language=en
ANALYSIS / Obama put Arabs and Israel on an equal footing
On June 4, 2009 a new chapter began in the trilateral relations between the United States, the Arab world and Israel. One day before Israel marks the 42nd anniversary of the Six-Day War, U.S. President Barack Obama declared before the entire world, upon an Arab-Muslim stage, that the time has come to end the era of Israeli occupation in the Palestinian territories. Moreover, Obama announced that he was taking responsibility for doing so. The imbalance in the unequal U.S.-Israel- Arab triangle was replaced Thursday by an Isosceles triangle.
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1090443. html
Obama: Moment is 'now' to act for Mideast peace
United States President Barack Obama said Friday that the "moment is now" to push forward a two-state solution, adding that both the Palestinians and Israel must get serious and prepare to make some difficult compromises.
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1090686. html
Netanyahu's Problem
"In the next four years there is going to be a permanent status arrangement between Israel and the Palestinians on the basis of two states for two peoples, and it doesn't matter to us at all who is prime minister"
http://www.moonofal abama.org/ 2009/06/netanyah us-problem. html
U.S. moves to ease tensions with Israel after Obama's Cairo speech
Following President Barack Obama's address in Cairo Thursday, the U.S. administration is now trying to lower tensions with Israel.
http://www.haaretz. .com/hasen/ spages/1090537. html
US, Israeli defense ministers meet in Washington
AFP - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates met with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak "for discussions on security issues of mutual concern," the Pentagon said.
http://news. yahoo.com/ s/afp/20090605/ pl_afp/usisraelm ilitary
Other news
Preventive Security: We have arrested the people involved in selling land to settlers
The Chief of Preventative Security in Bethlehem unveiled the recent arrest of a number of people involved in the diversion of land to Israelis. He stressed that the land of Bethlehem is a clear target for Israelis due to its proximity to Jerusalem.
http://english. pnn.ps/index. php?option= com_content&task=view&id=5625
Israel considered two-state solution just after Six-Day War
On December 5, 1967, then-chief of staff Lt. Gen. Yitzhak Rabin suggested to prime minister Levi Eshkol that a Palestinian state be established in the West Bank. The minutes of that conversation are kept today in the state archives. Rabin had in mind a state "that would be connected to Israel."
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1090648. html
Poll shows Israelis divided over Obama demands
JERUSALEM, June 5 (Reuters) - Israeli voters are divided on whether the Jewish state should accede to U.S. President Barack Obama's demand to stop settlement building and accept a Palestinian state, a newspaper poll showed on Friday. In answer to the question: "Should Israel accept Obama's demands or reject them and risk sanctions?" 40 percent of respondents said Israel should be prepared to risk Washington's wrath and not heed Obama's call, made in Egypt on Thursday.
http://www.alertnet .org/thenews/ newsdesk/ L5652348. htm
Torah dedication ceremony held at illegal outpost
Right-wing activists gather at rebuilt Maoz Ester, vow to continue settlement enterprise. 'Obama thinks that we'll simply evaporate,' MK Ben Ari says.
http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 3726580,00. html
Rabbi Aviner: Don`t bow down to Obama
Israel must deal with the Americans like Mordechai dealt with Haman, when he refused to bow down to him ...Israel should not accept financial aid from the US at all, saying that according to the Gemara accepting charity from a non-Jew equals blasphemy.
http://www.. ynetnews. com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 3725904,00. html
Palestinian PM Fayyad to Oslo for donors meeting
AFP - Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad will attend an international donors meeting in Oslo next week on aid urgently needed by the Palestinian Authority, Norwegian officials said Thursday.
http://news. yahoo.com/ s/afp/20090604/ wl_mideast_ afp/mideastpales tiniansdiplomacy aidnorway
Israeli commander gets settler death threats: radio
JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel's military commander for the West Bank has received a death threat, apparently sent by settlers, army radio reported. The threats against General Gady Shamni follow the dismantling of several unauthorised settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank in recent weeks. The letter calls Shamni "an anti-Semite who hates Jews" and a "son of Satan."
http://www.google. com/hostednews/ afp/article/ ALeqM5g4UnXRYC6y A28KX9_LsRFEwMhq wA
Haaretz Report: There Is No Israel without America
Israeli daily Haaretz published a report on Thursday in which it said that the future of the Middle East is a domestic American issue and the peace lies with the US decision makers led by President Barack Obama sayind that "since Henry Kissinger determined that foreign policy is merely an extension of domestic policy, his maxim has never had such tremendous potential impact".
http://almanar. com.lb/NewsSite/ NewsDetails. aspx?id=88596&language=en
Palestinian Football Federation: the game is an opportunity to further the Palestinian cause
Bethlehem / Hiba Lama for PNN - The month of June will see the largest sporting event in the occupied Palestinian territory this year in the football match between Palestine and Chechnya.
http://english. pnn.ps/index. php?option= com_content&task=view&id=5627
Media
MSNBC finally takes on Israel/Palestine
It's funny that Obama had to travel all the way to Cairo for MSNBC to start talking about what's going on in Washington, DC. Keith Olbermann had Lawrence Wilkerson, State Department chief of staff under Colin Powell, on his show tonight to discuss the US/Israeli relationship.
http://www.philipwe iss.org/mondowei ss/2009/06/ msnbc-finally- takes-on- israelpalestine. html
Analysis/Op- ed
Paradigmatic Progress?, By MOUIN RABBANI
A look back at the 20 turbulent years that have characterized the roadmap to peace - culminating in the recent Israeli assault on Gaza - helps illuminate some potential new paths to the occupation's end. The Israeli-Palestinian peace process was inaugurated in the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War, with the US pressuring Israel to negotiate over the future dispensation of the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.
http://www.counterp unch.org/ rabbani06042009. html
Obama's Double Standard
When I was in Israel recently, my family's Passover seder ended in a raging argument about whether Hamas should be part of any Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. The battle-lines were purely generational. Everyone under the age of 40 was adamant that Israel set aside ideological pre-conditions and talk with Hamas. Whether we like it or not, they insisted, Hamas is the elected leadership in Gaza. Ultimately, they said, any viable solution will have to include them.
http://www.counterp unch.org/ susskind06042009 .html
The Wages of Hubris and Vengeance
Israel is in the grip of a kind of collective schizophrenia. Not only its governors but the majority of its Jewish population have delusions of both grandeur and persecution, making for a distortion of reality and inconsistent behavior. Israeli Jews see and represent themselves as a chosen people and part of a superior Western civilization. They consider themselves more cerebral, reasonable, moral, and dynamic than Arabs and Muslims generally, and Palestinians in particular. At the same time they feel themselves to be the ultimate incarnation of the Jewish people's unique suffering through the ages, still subject to constant insecurity and defenselessness in the face of ever-threatening extreme and unmerited punishment.
http://www.counterp unch.com/ mayer06042009. html
Convenient Crutch: Forget 'Negotiations, Mr. Obama
Whenever western leaders lecture us about a solution to the Israel-Palestine problem, they rely on those comfortable, woolly words "negotiation" and "peace process"… it's a convenient crutch. Kick away the crutch and they'd finally have to grasp the nettle of justice, something they have always avoided. Justice is underpinned by law, but the operation of law in the Holy Land is conspicuously absent. The Arabs, I believe, want plain, simple justice. Why is this such a problem to a western alliance that claims to itself sweeping moral authority?
http://palestinechr onicle.com/ view_article_ details.php? id=15166
Time to Look Past Obama's Words
There is long-time saying about politicians: you cannot trust their words, but must judge them by their actions. President Obama is very good with words, perhaps the best communicator we have seen in the White House in a generation. But now he has been in office long enough that he should be judged on his actions.
http://palestinechr onicle.com/ view_article_ details.php? id=15165
Obama lays his Likud trap
President Barack Obama's laidback rhetoric in Cairo hints at the end of an era of almost unqualified support for Israel. By enticing Israeli hardliners to come out explicitly with their renunciation of the peace process, Obama gives the White House some serious leverage against US politicians who might otherwise be pressured into derailing his moves.
http://www.atimes. com/atimes/ Middle_East/ KF06Ak02. html
Lebanon
25 Spy Cells, 6 Networks belonging to Al-Qaeda Uncovered
Day after another, the Lebanese Army and security forces continue to make achievements, arresting spying networks spread throughout the country. On Friday, Lebanese daily An-Nahar quoted high-level military sources as revealing that the Lebanese army has uncovered 25 cells spying for the Israeli Mossad and arrested since early 2009 six networks belonging to al-Qaeda group.
http://almanar. com.lb/NewsSite/ NewsDetails. aspx?id=88703&language=en
Hezbollah alliance has edge in Lebanon vote: pollsters
AFP - Shiite militant group Hezbollah and its allies are poised to defeat Lebanon's Western-backed parliamentary majority in this month's general election, pollsters said on Thursday.
http://news. yahoo.com/ s/afp/20090604/ wl_mideast_ afp/lebanonvote
Hezbollah waits for its moment
With the help of Christian votes, the Hezbollah-led opposition is expected in voting on Sunday to narrowly win enough seats for a majority in Lebanon's parliament. Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria and especially the United States are looking on with more than their usual interest at the most significant elections in the country's history.
http://www.atimes. com/atimes/ Middle_East/ KF06Ak03. html
Thousands of Lebanese expats arrive to cast their votes
Over 19,000 Lebanese arrived in Beirut over the past two days to participate in Sunday's polls, the national news agency reported on Thursday. The agency added that airport traffic was expected to increase during the few remaining days until the elections. The NNA said that some of the arrivals expressed hope that the elections.
http://www.dailysta r.com.lb/ article.asp? edition_id= 1&categ_id=2&article_id=102700
Lebanon Election a Regional Affair
Regardless of which bloc emerges victorious, it will be by a slim margin at best. So the true test for Lebanon will remain the post-election process, when the new Lebanese parliament will have to choose a new prime minister, form a new cabinet and decide whether the minority retains veto power in the parliament. In the past, these kinds of maneuverings have led to political deadlock, violence and bloodshed..
http://www.worldpol iticsreview. com/article. aspx?id=3867
US military aid at stake in Lebanon elections
AFP - The US administration will suspend its military aid to Lebanon if an alliance led by the Islamist group Hezbollah wins Sunday's elections, but will seek to maintain ties, experts say.
http://news. yahoo.com/ s/afp/20090604/ pl_afp/lebanonvo teusmilitaryaid
The Lebanese Armed Forces: The Case for Continuing Aid -- Come Hizballah or High Water
I have said before that -- now that I am no longer based in Beirut -- this blog is probably not the go-to place for in-depth commentary on the Lebanese elections. But in the next few paragraphs I am going to make a case for continuing aid to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) no matter the outcome of this weekend's poll.
http://abumuqawama. blogspot. com/2009/ 06/lebanese- armed-forces- case-for. html
Iraq
Thursday: 1 US Soldier, 2 Iraqis Killed; 14 Iraqis Wounded
At least two Iraqis were killed and 14 more were wounded in the latest attacks. Also, a U.S. soldier was killed in a Kirkuk province grenade attack, while a second U.S. soldier was wounded during an attack in Fallujah. Meanwhile, Romanian forces formally ended their mission during a ceremony attended by Romanian president Traian Basescu in Nasariya.
US soldier dies after Iraq grenade attack
AFP - An American soldier died following a grenade attack on his patrol in northern Iraq's tense city of Kirkuk on Thursday, the US Army said.
http://news. yahoo.com/ s/afp/20090604/ wl_mideast_ afp/iraqunrestus toll
Report Ties Dubious Iran Nuke Documents to Israel, By GARETH PORTER
A report on Iran's nuclear programme issued by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last month generated news stories publicising an incendiary charge that U.S. intelligence is underestimating Iran's progress in designing a "nuclear warhead" before the halt in nuclear weapons-related research in 2003.
http://www.counterp unch.org/ porter06042009. html
U.S.
"Guantanamo at Home": Muslim-American Syed Fahad Hashmi Held in 23-Hour Solitary Pre-Trial Confinement for Over Two Years in Case Resting on Plea-Bargaining Government Informant
One day after President Obama trumpeted the achievements and freedoms of Muslim-Americans in his celebrated Cairo speech, we look at the case of case of Syed Fahad Hashmi, a U.S. citizen who has been held in pre-trial 23-hour solitary confinement in a Manhattan federal prison for over two years.
http://www.democrac ynow.org/ 2009/6/5/ hashmi
Obama's visit to Egypt
Hamas and the Palestinian Authority react to Obama's speech
Bethlehem – Ma'an – The Palestinian Authority said it considered US President Barack Obama's speech in Cairo "a new and different American beginning and a new message to the Israelis," while Hamas said the remarks contained a number of good points.
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=38315
Hamas reaction to Obama
Joe Klein has a very interesting post up at Swampland. About an hour after the speech, Joe sat down with Khaled Meshal, the Hamas leader, in Damascus. His review? Not positive, but not wholly negative...
http://www.guardian .co.uk/commentis free/michaeltoma sky/2009/ jun/04/obama- hamas-cairo- speech
A Meeting in Damascus, Posted by Joe Klein
About an hour after Barack Obama's excellent Cairo speech, I met with Khaled Meshal, the leader of Hamas, at his office here to talk about the speech and the Israel-Palestine conflict. We spoke for several hours and I will have a fuller accounting of our conversation in my print column next week. Meshal speaks some English, but he feels more comfortable using an interpreter. He listened to my questions in English, asking occasionally for translation of a word or phrase, and gave his answers in Arabic. He never raised his voice or used militant language, but he never yielded on his basic position either.
http://swampland. blogs.time. com/2009/ 06/04/a-meeting- in-damascus/
Israel praises Obama speech, but says its security paramount
Settler leaders reacted with frustration in the wake of Obama's speech in Cairo on Thursday, Israel Radio reported.
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1090412. html
Israeli settlers left fuming after Obama's Cairo speech
Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies - Israeli settlers were incensed on Thursday following US President Barack Obama's address in Cairo to the Muslim world. "Only time will tell if the US president is Barak or Hussein," Yesha Council Director-General Pinchas Wallerstein said in response to the speech, according to the Israeli news agency Ynet.
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=38313
Palestinians pleased with Obama's Koran quotes
Sources within PA say US president understands Israeli-Palestinian conflict 'root cause' of Mideast stability; PRC spokesman says speech shows Obama constrained by 'Zionist lobby'.
http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 3726621,00. html
INSTANT VIEW: Reaction after Obama addresses Muslims
http://www.reuters. com/article/ GCA-BarackObama/ idUKTRE55335W200 90604?sp= true
Obama Cairo Speech Stirs Mixed Feelings in the Holy Land
Time.com - Palestinians are moved and Israelis concerned by the President's outreach to the Muslim world.
http://news. yahoo.com/ s/time/20090604/ wl_time/08599190 275800
Hezbollah: Obama Speech Signals No Real Change in US Policy
04/06/2009 MP in the Loyalty to the resistance parliamentary bloc Hassan Fadlallah told AFP that US President Barack Obama's landmark speech to Muslims on Thursday signals no real shift in US policy in the Arab world despite its conciliatory tone. "What we heard is a speech that reveals no real change to the position of US policy in the region."
http://www.almanar. com.lb/NewsSite/ NewsDetails. aspx?id=88616&language=en
Sadr: Obama has subtle plans to control world
Iraq's senior cleric Moqtada al-Sadr says Barack Obama's speech indicates that the US wants to take a different avenue to bring the world under its control. "The honeyed political speech expressed only one aim -- America wants to take a different avenue to bring the world under its control" compared to the former US president George W. Bush's strategies, Sadr said in a statement released to journalists in the holy city of Najaf on Thursday.
http://www.presstv. ir/detail. aspx?id=97099§ionid=351020201
On the street in the West Bank - Obama's speech was not as awe-inspiring as the pundits are saying
Bethlehem / PNN - Hussein is a 40 year old Palestinian with the same leanings as many in the West Bank — nationalist where it counts, leftist in his open-mindedness and with Islamic tendencies in his sense of tradition.
http://english. pnn.ps/index. php?option= com_content&task=view&id=5610
Great expectations met
Neither Tel Aviv nor Ramallah held their breaths Thursday as the American president gave a speech in Cairo; the traffic in both crowded cities continued normally. Tel Aviv was indifferent, Ramallah sunk in desperation: Both cities have already had their fill of nice, historic speeches.
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1090534. html
Obama's speech marks a strategic revolution for Israel
There have been American presidents who saw themselves as God's messengers on earth. There have been presidents who played the role of warrior on the battlefield of the superpowers. There have been presidents who rose through the political system and could pull the strings in Congress. Barack Obama is a rock star. He has total confidence in his powers of persuasion - if he can just have access to a platform, two teleprompters and airtime. Let him speak to the audience, any audience, and he'll sell them a new, friendly, considerate America. Obama's meteoric rise to the presidency and his massive popularity just go to show that his self-confidence is well founded.
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1090654. html
U.S. Jews split over Obama's Israel remarks in Cairo speech
Leaders of Jewish organizations in the United States were divided Thursday in their reactions to comments on Israel that President Barack Obama made in an address to the Muslim world in Cairo.
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1090457. html
US conservatives criticise Barack Obama over Cairo speech
US conservatives heaped scorn on Barack Obama's speech at Cairo University today, saying he assumed a false moral equivalence between the west and the Muslim world and apologised for past American actions while failing to hold Arab and Muslim states accountable for violent extremist groups.
http://www.guardian .co.uk/world/ 2009/jun/ 04/barack- obama-cairo- speech-republica ns
Obama Speech: Part Vapid and Part Sinister
I did not expect much. I mean, you know the routine by now. When presidents change, they merely change the Zionist Middle East "expert" at the White House who guides the president. Something happened in Middle East policy making in the White House in the Reagan administration. They no more trusted a real Middle East expert to guide policy making (this is party the obituary of the Arabists in Robert Kaplan's book by that name). You no more had a William Quandt at the White House: somebody who is a trained Middle East scholar who is truly balanced in his views of the Middle East. By the Reagan administration, that was killed. Reagan's White House had Geoffrey Kemp (who is now at the Nixon Center) and it went down hill from there. I met Kemp a few times and he is a nice guy but he is no William Quandt. Kemp looked at the Middle East from the standpoint of Cold War calculations and from the standpoint of what is best for American-Israeli relations. The George H.W. Bush's White House had Richard Haas he was no expert on the Middle East. Clinton selected Martin Indyk and that set the stage for the appointment of Zionist activists (with no Middle East expertise like Elliott Abrams) to take over Middle East policy making.
http://angryarab. blogspot. com/2009/ 06/obama- speech-part- vapid-and- part.html
See also Angry Arab interview on NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
http://www.pbs. org/newshour/ video/module. html?mod= 0&pkg=4062009&seg=4
Obama in Cairo: a Bush in sheep's clothing | Ali Abunimah
Fair enough, but did Obama really imagine that such words would impress an Arab public that watched in horror as Israel slaughtered 1,400 people in Gaza last winter, including hundreds of sleeping, fleeing or terrified children, with American-supplied weapons? Did he think his listeners would not remember that the number of Palestinian and Lebanese civilians targeted and killed by Israel has always far exceeded by orders of magnitude the number of Israelis killed by Arabs precisely because of the American arms he has pledged to continue giving Israel with no accountability? Amnesty International recently confirmed what Palestinians long knew: Israel broke the negotiated ceasefire when it attacked Gaza last November 4, prompting retaliatory rockets that killed no Israelis until after Israel launched its much bigger attack on Gaza. That he continues to remain silent about what happened in Gaza, and refuses to hold Israel accountable demonstrates anything but a commitment to full truth-telling.
http://www.guardian .co.uk/commentis free/2009/ jun/04/barack- obama-middleeast
"Chomsky on Obama Speech"
"In the background is the Obama administration' s goal, enunciated most clearly by Senator John Kerry, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to forge an alliance of Israel and the 'moderate' Arab states against Iran. The term 'moderate' has nothing to do with the character of the state, but rather signals its willingness to conform to U.S. demands."
http://mrzine. monthlyreview. org/chomsky04060 9..html
On the Cairo speech, by Stephen M. Walt
A few quick thoughts on President Obama'sCairo speech. Overall, Obama once again demonstrated his willingness and ability to wrestle with complex and difficult ideas in public. One of his hallmark features as a leader is to show respect for his listeners by appealing to their sense of reason. As he did in the "race" speech during the campaign, and in his Notre Dame speech on abortion, Obama acknowledged room for disagreement and contestation and showed that he understands and respects alternative views even when he does not share them. Yet there are also clear limits to his tolerance: the speech included a forthright rejection of violence, a reminder to his audience that his "first duty is to protect the American people" and that "al Qaeda killed 3,000 people on [9/11]," and a clear statement of the American commitment to basic human rights. In seeking a "new beginning," he didn't start with an act of appeasement.
http://walt. foreignpolicy. com/posts/ 2009/06/04/ on_the_cairo_ speech
Max Blumenthal: Feeling the Hate In Jerusalem on Eve of Obama's Cairo Address
Max Blumenthal writes: On the eve of President Barack Obama's address to the Muslim world from Cairo, Egypt, I stepped out onto the streets of Jerusalem with my friend Joseph Dana to interview young Israelis and American Jews about their reaction to the speech. We encountered rowdy groups of beer sodden twenty-somethings, many from the United States, and all eager to vent their visceral, even violent hatred of Barack Obama and his policies towards Israel. Usually I offer a brief commentary on my video reports, but this one requires no comment at all. Quite simply, it contains some of the most shocking footage I have ever filmed. Watch it and see if you agree. (Warning: this video contains profanity and material offensive to just about anyone.)
http://www.philipwe iss.org/mondowei ss/2009/06/ max-blumenthal- feeling-the- hate-in-jerusale m-on-eve- of-obamas- cairo-address. html
Hussein Ibish, a senior fellow at the American Task Force for Palestine, was bowled over:
"President Obama deservedly received a standing ovation from his audience at Cairo University today, after delivering a pitch-perfect and inspiring speech to the Arab and Muslim peoples," Ibish wrote on his blog. "The President's words were especially significant ... with regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, bluntly stating 'it is time for us to act on what everyone knows to be true,' which is that it is in 'Israel's interest, Palestine's interest, American interests and the world's interests' to achieve an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians that allows for the creation of a Palestinian state.'"
http://thecable. foreignpolicy. com/posts/ 2009/06/04/ obamas_cairo_ speech_rabbis
Some Dissenting Voices in Arab Blogosphere
If, like The Lede, you followed the State Department's global live Web chat immediately after President Barack Obama's speech to the Muslim world in Cairo this morning, you might have gotten the impression that an era of peace and good will was at hand.
http://thelede. blogs.nytimes. com/2009/ 06/04/some- dissenting- voices-in- arab-blogosphere /
Robert Fisk: Words that could heal wounds of centuries
Preacher, historian, economist, moralist, schoolteacher, critic, warrior, imam, emperor. Sometimes you even forgot Barack Obama was the President of the United States of America.
http://www.independ ent.co.uk/ opinion/commenta tors/fisk/ robert-fisk- words-that- could-heal- wounds-of- centuries- 1697417.html
When it comes to Obama's Cairo speech, what matters are actions, not fine words
Antony Loewenstein responds to Obama's speech in Cairo: Back in 2005, then US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice gave a rousing speech at Cairo's American University. "For sixty years", she argued, "my country, the United States, pursued stability at the expense of democracy in this region here in the Middle East – and we achieved neither. Now, we are taking a different course. We are supporting the democratic aspirations of all peoples."
http://www.philipwe iss.org/mondowei ss/2009/06/ loewenstein- obama-cairo- speech.html
Obama's speech marks the beginning of a real political test
Scott Mcconnell responds to Obama's speech in Cairo: The Obama speech was terrific, for its build up and atmospherics, and for its relative specificity about Israel-Palestine. Of course it was only a speech and no one know what policies will flow from it, but the acknowledgment of that important word, "humiliation"—that Israel (with American support) have imposed on the Palestinians goes a long way. So too the use of the word, "Palestine", instead of the more amorphous and distancing "Palestinian state."
http://www.philipwe iss.org/mondowei ss/2009/06/ obamas-speech- is-the-beginning -of-a-political- test.html
Changing the Discourse: First Step toward Changing the Policy?
President Barack Obama's much-anticipated Cairo speech reflected a significant shift away from the ideological framework of militarism and unilateralism that shaped the Bush administration' s war-based policy towards the Arab and Muslim worlds. His "not Bush" focus was perhaps most sharply evident in his public denunciation of the Iraq War as a "war of choice." Obama's call for a "new beginning" based on "the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition" was followed by a move to shift the official U.S. discourse towards something closer to internationalism - particularly by pointing to parallels between historical (and some contemporary) grievances and treating them as equivalent. This included his reference to the U.S. "role in the overthrow of a democratically elected Iranian government" along with Iran's "role in acts of hostage-taking and violence against U.S. troops and civilians."
http://www.zmag. org/zspace/ commentaries/ 3885
We wanted a world leader. We saw only a US president | Ahdaf Soueif
Obama's long-awaited speech demonstrated little to suggest America will pursue any course beyond its own interests. This is hard. It's hard because we so need to believe that Obama is about change, that he's wise, that he's good, that he has the interests of the world – rather than just the interests of the United States – at heart.
http://www.guardian .co.uk/commentis free/2009/ jun/05/barack- obama-cairo
Obama in Cairo: Is Obama's change simply cosmetic? | Khaled Diab
Obama may gain some trust, but America's deceptive belief that it is not an empire condemns its leader to repeating old mistakes. Obama's masterful Cairo speech is an eloquent sign that Washington is under new management, but can his shift in rhetoric deliver the kind of change Arabs and Muslims can believe in?
http://www.guardian .co.uk/commentis free/2009/ jun/05/obama- cairo-america
Satire: That will change Arab perceptions of the US
"Shoukran," Mr. Obama replied, which in Arabic means "thank you.""Look how nice, how sensitive, and how humane. Why did not other presidents think of that. If only that word was used before. I mean, if you print the word "shoukran" (it should be "shukran" but hey, it is the New York Times), on bombs and missiles that are being dropped on Arabs and Muslims, I think that they will no more mind US wars. Really. Just by using the word, Obama guaranteed a switch in Arab/Muslim public perceptions of the US. In fact, I once entered a French restaurant in Paris: and I started to hit customers and trashing the place. When some customers gathered to attack me, I yelled: "Merci." With that, the entire crowd started to cheer and they went to the kitchen to bake me a croissant. You should try that trick sometimes. "Thank you." [end]
http://angryarab. blogspot. com/2009/ 06/that-will- change-arab- perceptios- of-us.html
Amalek By The Fourth Of July
The evolution of President Obama: On 31 May, he was an Egyptian Pharoah (via Mondoweiss); An Anti-Semitic Jew-hater by 3 June; Today, secretly German! My predictions: Hitler by this time next week; Amalek by July 4; Rodef by Thanksgiving.
http://lawrenceofcy beria.blogs. com/news/ 2009/06/amalek- by-the-fourth- of-july.html
Deconstructing Obama's Cairo Speech
Barack Obama's speech today in Cairo was meant to establish a new relationship between the United States and the Arab world. To the extent that shifting American foreign policy is possible, it is not clear Obama will achieve this grand goal.
Actually there were no grand transformations envisioned, just steps and stages proposed since "change cannot happen overnight," but even those did not strike me as achievable (maybe except for the polio project with the Organization of the Islamic Conference). .
http://www.kabobfes t.com/2009/ 06/deconstructin g-obamas- cairo-speech. html
--
www.TheHeadlines. org
Settlers unveil new "Obama" outpost in the West Bank
Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies - Israeli settlers established a new illegal West Bank outpost on Thursday, dedicating it partly to US President Barack Obama.
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=38330
Palestine Monitor bids farewell to Bassam Ibrahim Abu Rahmeh
http://www.palestin emonitor. org/spip/ spip.php? article973
Violence/Siege Related Deaths/Aggression
OPT: Infant dies as Israel prevents him from leaving Gaza strip to undergo medical treatment in East Jerusalem
At around 7.30am on 3 June 2009, seven-month- old Zein Ad-Din Mohammed Zu'rob died in the intensive care unit at European Gaza Hospital in Khan Younis. Medical sources at the hospital reported to Al Mezan that he died as a result of respiratory system and heart failure. According to Al Mezan investigations, Zein's family obtained a medical referral for him to undergo medical treatment at Al-Maqasid Charity Hospital in East Jerusalem for 30 days starting from 18 May 2009.
http://www.reliefwe b.int/rw/ rwb.nsf/db900SID /JBRN-7SPGXG? OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P
Palestinian shot dead by Israeli troops at West Bank protest
Bethlehem - Ma'an - A Palestinian demonstrator was killed and another injured after Israeli forces opened fire at an anti-wall rally in the West Bank village of Ni'lin on Friday. The slain Palestinian was identified as Yousef Akel Sadiq Srour, 36.
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=38333
The military attack Bil'in weekly protest injuring five civilians
Five protesters were injured and dozens surfed from Gaza inhalation when Israeli troops attack the weekly protest in Bil'in village near the central West Bank city of Ramallah on Friday.
http://www.imemc. org/article/ 60699
Israeli warships open fire at fishing boats off Gaza coast
Gaza – Ma'an – Israel's navy fired on boats off the short of Gaza City on Friday morning, but no damage or injuries were immediately reported. Witnesses said the ships, which contribute to Israel's ongoing blockade of the besieged coastal strip, often open fire on vessels sailing near the coast, preventing a major source of income for Gaza's residents. [end]
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=38322
When Settlers Attack
Joharah Baker - MIFTAH - " heavily armed settlers, who have equally heavily armed Israeli soldiers guarding them around the clock, have the freedom to take the law into their own hands whenever they deem in necessary. This week`s incidents only further support this point. Palestinians have no legal recourse against settler rampages. Their lands are burned. Their livelihood ruined, their orchards damaged and their sons and daughters attacked. "
http://www.miftah. org/Display. cfm?DocId= 19761&CategoryID=3
Detentions (more under Fatah Collaboration section)
Soldiers seize Palestinian and his daughter in Hebron
Hebron – Ma'an – Israeli soldiers detained a Palestinian man and his daughter for around two hours near the illegal Israeli settlement of Kiryat Arba on Thursday. Local sources told Ma'an's correspondent that "while 50-year-old Abed Al-Karim Al-Ja'bari and his 22-year-old daughter Suhair were working on their land an Israeli military jeep loaded wth border guards came and detained them." The Israeli settlers had previously erected a tent on Al-Ja'bari's land, which was removed under orders from Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak. [end]
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=38327
Two Palestinians seized in Nablus-area village
Nablus – Ma'an – Israeli troops detained two young men from Madama village south of Nablus after storming several houses on Friday at dawn. A member at the village council, Hassan Zyadeh, told Ma'an in Nablus that troops detained Bashir Zyadeh, 24, and Aktham Nassar, 22, after raiding their houses. [end]
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=38323
War Crimes
Inside Story - Israel's boycott of UN mission - 04 June 09
A UN team investigating possible war crimes in Gaza, led by Richard Goldstone, is in the Strip on a week-long fact finding mission. They had to enter from Egypt after Israel failed to grant visas, despite repeated requests by the UN. With Israel boycotting the commission, can the UN mission investigate alleged violations of international law, and can UN investigations in the Gaza strip lead to any prosecutions?
http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=t6lI-g2qrkM
UN to hold public war crimes hearings in Gaza
A UN team investigating possible war crimes by Israel and Hamas during the Gaza war has announced it will hold two days of public hearings in Gaza later this month.
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1090452. html
UN committee chief 'amazed' by Gaza destruction
Head of team investigating recent war between Israel and Hamas says will hold two days of public hearings in Strip, claims Israel not cooperating with probe.
http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 3726552,00. html
Goldstone expresses sad feelings after seeing Gaza destruction
GAZA, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Richard Goldstone, Head of the United Nations inquiry team to investigate the outcome of the Israeli military offensive on Gaza, expressed on Thursday his sad feelings after seeing the destruction caused by Israel.
http://news. xinhuanet. com/english/ 2009-06/04/ content_11489320 .htm
Goldstone: Israeli refusal will not stop Gaza probe
Bethlehem – Ma'an – The head of a UN fact-finding mission to Gaza said on Thursday that he would continue his investigation into alleged war crimes in spite of Israeli noncompliance. Speaking at a news conference in Gaza, Justice Richard Goldstone said Israel was approached a number of times seeking its cooperation in the inquiry into the three-week attack on Gaza in December and January. "The response," he said, "was a complete refusal."
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=38310
UN hearings to be held on Gaza war crimes
A UN team investigating possible war crimes in Gaza says it will hold public hearings with victims of the conflict in Gaza and Geneva later this month...A fact-finding team commissioned by the Arab League said there was sufficient evidence for the Israeli military to be prosecuted for war crimes and crimes against humanity, and that "the Israeli political leadership was also responsible for such crimes."
http://news. bbc.co.uk/ 2/hi/middle_ east/8084734. stm
Haniyeh meets with UN fact-finding mission head Goldstone
Gaza – Ma'an – De facto Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on Thursday night met with the head of a UN fact-finding mission investigating alleged Israeli war crimes in Gaza. The Hamas-affiliated leader met Justice Richard Goldstone, and the two discussed claims of Israeli aggression toward Gazans and allegations of war crimes in the latest assault on Gaza, in addition to the ongoing siege.
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=38319
Humanitarian Issues/Human Rights Violations/Discrimi nation/Siege
PCHR Weekly Report: 2 Palestinians killed, 4 civilians injured by Israeli forces this week
According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, during the week of 28 May- 03 June 2009, two Palestinians were killed – one by Israeli troops and one by an Israeli settler. 4 Palestinian civilians, including two children and a journalist were wounded by Israeli gunfire. Israeli forces conducted 24 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. During those incursions, troops abducted 19 Palestinian civilians, and turned two homes into military sites. Israeli forces positioned at military checkpoints in the West Bank abducted three Palestinians.
http://www.imemc. org/article/ 60695
Palestinian psychologists: 98% of Gaza children lost security due to war on Gaza
Palestinian psychologists have warned Wednesday that 98% of the Palestinian children in Gaza Strip were suffering of psychological traumas, and feel unsafe due to the brutal Israeli war on Gaza.
http://www.palestin e-info.co. uk/En/
OPT: Rebuilding Gaza - putting people before politics
In June 2009 the blockade on the Gaza Strip enters its third year. The intense closure policy, coupled with the government of Israel's recent military operation 'Cast Lead', has had a devastating impact on the lives and livelihoods of one and a half million Gazans, pushing them further into poverty and aid dependency.
http://www.reliefwe b.int/rw/ rwb.nsf/db900SID /JBRN-7SPC3M? OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P
OPT: Gaza building project experiments with clay, rubble
GAZA CITY, 4 June 2009 (IRIN) - In the face of the ongoing Israeli ban on imports of building materials Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are looking at new building methods, and one project is using clay and rubble.
http://www.reliefwe b.int/rw/ rwb.nsf/db900SID /PSLG-7SPC3E? OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P
OPT: Sewage warning to swimmers, fishermen
GAZA CITY, 5 June 2009 (IRIN) - The World Health Organization (WHO) in the Gaza Strip, in conjunction with the Gaza health ministry, began a public awareness campaign this week to warn swimmers and fishermen of raw sewage discharges, and the potential dangers.
http://www.irinnews .org/Report. aspx?ReportId= 84719
Chronic Disease under Occupation
It is easy to understand how devastating it is for a young person to suddenly discover that he or she has a serious disease. Hence, it is less easy to comprehend how this sad moment can be just the beginning of a drama for people in Palestine. The occupation of Palestine affects every aspect of the daily lives of Palestinians, and healthcare is certainly no exception. The Palestinian health care system has transformed from civil society providing health care services – mainly primary health care – into a governmental system introduced in 1995. Hence, the health care system in the occupied Palestinian Territories is fairly recent. However and due to the Israeli occupation, it has been totally crippled and is unable to meet the needs of its population, forcing patients and their families to rely on attracting international aid in order to receive medical attention.
http://www.palestin emonitor. org/spip/ spip.php? article976
Life in Gaza
More than four months after Gaza was devastated by a massive Israeli military bombardment, rebuilding has been slow to come. The problem is not a lack of funding or will. However, an Israeli-led blockade has kept all rebuilding materials, including concrete or any tools that could be used to rebuild the hundreds of homes and buildings here, out of Gaza. The border entries, controlled by the Israeli and Egyptian governments, are sealed to almost all traffic.
http://dissidentvoi ce.org/2009/ 06/life-in- gaza/
Saving the orphans
BLESSED with courage, humanity, a Lebanese background and the support of a British newspaper, Hala Jaber had the credentials to spell out the true ugliness of "collateral damage" in the Iraqi war. When the Sunday Times, among other newspapers, established a fund to help injured civilians, Ms Jaber and her photographer husband Steve set out to find stories that would pierce hearts and empty wallets. It was an all too easy commission.
http://www.economis t.com/books/ displaystory. cfm?story_ id=13777102&fsrc=rss
Galilee communities: We`re not racist, we just don`t want Arabs
Residents of the Misgav bloc of communities in the Galilee consider themselves to be liberal, peace-loving people who support coexistence with their Arab neighbors and even root for Bnei Sakhnin, the soccer club based in a nearby Arab town considered a prominent symbol of that community. Which is why they were shocked this week when proposals raised at local council meetings to accept only applicants who shared their Zionist principles drew negative headlines and criticism for alleged racism.
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1090527. html
Refugees
VIDEO: For Palestinians, a Chance to Get Out and Play
http://www.washingt onpost.com/ wp-dyn/content/ gallery/2009/ 06/04/GA20090604 04394.html
Fatah Collaborators
PA military court sentences Hamas men to three years
Ramallah – Ma'an – The Hamas movement said that a Palestinian Authority military court in the West Bank city of Ramallah sentenced three Hamas affiliates to three years imprisonment on Thursday. The head of the PA military court, Abed Al-Aziz Wadi, confirmed the sentence to Ma'an, yet denied that this decision was taken due to the defendants' affiliation with Hamas, instead for what he called illegal acts, including incitement against the PA.
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=38311
Hamas: PA detained seven affiliates in the West Bank
Salfit - Ma'an - The Hamas movement on Thursday said Palestinian Authority security services detained seven affiliates in the West Bank in recent days. The group said in a statement, "The security services detained Sa'id Sabry and Amar Saman from Qalqiliya, Mokdad Abo-Jehesha from Hebron, Layth Al-Autely and Yousif Al-Malah from Tulkarem, Sabry Thokan from Nablus, and Al-Sheikh Mahmoud Sawlha from the town of Kafr Ra'y near Jenin."
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=38331
Abbas security forces arrest 10 militants in West Bank
RAMALLAH, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Islamic Hamas movement said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' security forces arrested on Friday seven of its members and three members of the Islamic Jihad movement.
http://news. xinhuanet. com/english/ 2009-06/05/ content_11494984 .htm
Political Developments
West Bank Hamas lawmakers denounce Qalqiliya events
Bethlehem – Ma'an – Several Hamas-affiliated Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) members denounced the latest bloodshed in Qalqiliya on Thursday, according to a joint letter sent to Ma'an. In the message, the Hamas officials "strongly denounced" the events in Qalqiliya, which claimed the lives of two Hamas fighters and one Palestinian Authority police officer, among others who were injured.
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=38314
Hamas: We will avenge Qalqilya deaths
Islamist group vows retaliation against Palestinian Authority for the killing of its operatives in two separate clashed in West Bank city.
http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 3726517,00. html
Hamas Says Prisoner Swap Talks Have Resumed
Hamas resistance movement confirmed on Thursday that its representatives have traveled to Cairo for talks on the fate of captured Israeli occupation soldier Gilad Shalit. A Hamas official in the Gaza Strip said that "a number of Hamas operatives" had been summoned by the Egyptian authorities as part of renewed efforts to reach agreement with Israel over a prisoner exchange.
http://almanar. com.lb/NewsSite/ NewsDetails. aspx?id=88701&language=en
ANALYSIS / Obama put Arabs and Israel on an equal footing
On June 4, 2009 a new chapter began in the trilateral relations between the United States, the Arab world and Israel. One day before Israel marks the 42nd anniversary of the Six-Day War, U.S. President Barack Obama declared before the entire world, upon an Arab-Muslim stage, that the time has come to end the era of Israeli occupation in the Palestinian territories. Moreover, Obama announced that he was taking responsibility for doing so. The imbalance in the unequal U.S.-Israel- Arab triangle was replaced Thursday by an Isosceles triangle.
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1090443. html
Obama: Moment is 'now' to act for Mideast peace
United States President Barack Obama said Friday that the "moment is now" to push forward a two-state solution, adding that both the Palestinians and Israel must get serious and prepare to make some difficult compromises.
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1090686. html
Netanyahu's Problem
"In the next four years there is going to be a permanent status arrangement between Israel and the Palestinians on the basis of two states for two peoples, and it doesn't matter to us at all who is prime minister"
http://www.moonofal abama.org/ 2009/06/netanyah us-problem. html
U.S. moves to ease tensions with Israel after Obama's Cairo speech
Following President Barack Obama's address in Cairo Thursday, the U.S. administration is now trying to lower tensions with Israel.
http://www.haaretz. .com/hasen/ spages/1090537. html
US, Israeli defense ministers meet in Washington
AFP - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates met with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak "for discussions on security issues of mutual concern," the Pentagon said.
http://news. yahoo.com/ s/afp/20090605/ pl_afp/usisraelm ilitary
Other news
Preventive Security: We have arrested the people involved in selling land to settlers
The Chief of Preventative Security in Bethlehem unveiled the recent arrest of a number of people involved in the diversion of land to Israelis. He stressed that the land of Bethlehem is a clear target for Israelis due to its proximity to Jerusalem.
http://english. pnn.ps/index. php?option= com_content&task=view&id=5625
Israel considered two-state solution just after Six-Day War
On December 5, 1967, then-chief of staff Lt. Gen. Yitzhak Rabin suggested to prime minister Levi Eshkol that a Palestinian state be established in the West Bank. The minutes of that conversation are kept today in the state archives. Rabin had in mind a state "that would be connected to Israel."
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1090648. html
Poll shows Israelis divided over Obama demands
JERUSALEM, June 5 (Reuters) - Israeli voters are divided on whether the Jewish state should accede to U.S. President Barack Obama's demand to stop settlement building and accept a Palestinian state, a newspaper poll showed on Friday. In answer to the question: "Should Israel accept Obama's demands or reject them and risk sanctions?" 40 percent of respondents said Israel should be prepared to risk Washington's wrath and not heed Obama's call, made in Egypt on Thursday.
http://www.alertnet .org/thenews/ newsdesk/ L5652348. htm
Torah dedication ceremony held at illegal outpost
Right-wing activists gather at rebuilt Maoz Ester, vow to continue settlement enterprise. 'Obama thinks that we'll simply evaporate,' MK Ben Ari says.
http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 3726580,00. html
Rabbi Aviner: Don`t bow down to Obama
Israel must deal with the Americans like Mordechai dealt with Haman, when he refused to bow down to him ...Israel should not accept financial aid from the US at all, saying that according to the Gemara accepting charity from a non-Jew equals blasphemy.
http://www.. ynetnews. com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 3725904,00. html
Palestinian PM Fayyad to Oslo for donors meeting
AFP - Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad will attend an international donors meeting in Oslo next week on aid urgently needed by the Palestinian Authority, Norwegian officials said Thursday.
http://news. yahoo.com/ s/afp/20090604/ wl_mideast_ afp/mideastpales tiniansdiplomacy aidnorway
Israeli commander gets settler death threats: radio
JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel's military commander for the West Bank has received a death threat, apparently sent by settlers, army radio reported. The threats against General Gady Shamni follow the dismantling of several unauthorised settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank in recent weeks. The letter calls Shamni "an anti-Semite who hates Jews" and a "son of Satan."
http://www.google. com/hostednews/ afp/article/ ALeqM5g4UnXRYC6y A28KX9_LsRFEwMhq wA
Haaretz Report: There Is No Israel without America
Israeli daily Haaretz published a report on Thursday in which it said that the future of the Middle East is a domestic American issue and the peace lies with the US decision makers led by President Barack Obama sayind that "since Henry Kissinger determined that foreign policy is merely an extension of domestic policy, his maxim has never had such tremendous potential impact".
http://almanar. com.lb/NewsSite/ NewsDetails. aspx?id=88596&language=en
Palestinian Football Federation: the game is an opportunity to further the Palestinian cause
Bethlehem / Hiba Lama for PNN - The month of June will see the largest sporting event in the occupied Palestinian territory this year in the football match between Palestine and Chechnya.
http://english. pnn.ps/index. php?option= com_content&task=view&id=5627
Media
MSNBC finally takes on Israel/Palestine
It's funny that Obama had to travel all the way to Cairo for MSNBC to start talking about what's going on in Washington, DC. Keith Olbermann had Lawrence Wilkerson, State Department chief of staff under Colin Powell, on his show tonight to discuss the US/Israeli relationship.
http://www.philipwe iss.org/mondowei ss/2009/06/ msnbc-finally- takes-on- israelpalestine. html
Analysis/Op- ed
Paradigmatic Progress?, By MOUIN RABBANI
A look back at the 20 turbulent years that have characterized the roadmap to peace - culminating in the recent Israeli assault on Gaza - helps illuminate some potential new paths to the occupation's end. The Israeli-Palestinian peace process was inaugurated in the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War, with the US pressuring Israel to negotiate over the future dispensation of the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.
http://www.counterp unch.org/ rabbani06042009. html
Obama's Double Standard
When I was in Israel recently, my family's Passover seder ended in a raging argument about whether Hamas should be part of any Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. The battle-lines were purely generational. Everyone under the age of 40 was adamant that Israel set aside ideological pre-conditions and talk with Hamas. Whether we like it or not, they insisted, Hamas is the elected leadership in Gaza. Ultimately, they said, any viable solution will have to include them.
http://www.counterp unch.org/ susskind06042009 .html
The Wages of Hubris and Vengeance
Israel is in the grip of a kind of collective schizophrenia. Not only its governors but the majority of its Jewish population have delusions of both grandeur and persecution, making for a distortion of reality and inconsistent behavior. Israeli Jews see and represent themselves as a chosen people and part of a superior Western civilization. They consider themselves more cerebral, reasonable, moral, and dynamic than Arabs and Muslims generally, and Palestinians in particular. At the same time they feel themselves to be the ultimate incarnation of the Jewish people's unique suffering through the ages, still subject to constant insecurity and defenselessness in the face of ever-threatening extreme and unmerited punishment.
http://www.counterp unch.com/ mayer06042009. html
Convenient Crutch: Forget 'Negotiations, Mr. Obama
Whenever western leaders lecture us about a solution to the Israel-Palestine problem, they rely on those comfortable, woolly words "negotiation" and "peace process"… it's a convenient crutch. Kick away the crutch and they'd finally have to grasp the nettle of justice, something they have always avoided. Justice is underpinned by law, but the operation of law in the Holy Land is conspicuously absent. The Arabs, I believe, want plain, simple justice. Why is this such a problem to a western alliance that claims to itself sweeping moral authority?
http://palestinechr onicle.com/ view_article_ details.php? id=15166
Time to Look Past Obama's Words
There is long-time saying about politicians: you cannot trust their words, but must judge them by their actions. President Obama is very good with words, perhaps the best communicator we have seen in the White House in a generation. But now he has been in office long enough that he should be judged on his actions.
http://palestinechr onicle.com/ view_article_ details.php? id=15165
Obama lays his Likud trap
President Barack Obama's laidback rhetoric in Cairo hints at the end of an era of almost unqualified support for Israel. By enticing Israeli hardliners to come out explicitly with their renunciation of the peace process, Obama gives the White House some serious leverage against US politicians who might otherwise be pressured into derailing his moves.
http://www.atimes. com/atimes/ Middle_East/ KF06Ak02. html
Lebanon
25 Spy Cells, 6 Networks belonging to Al-Qaeda Uncovered
Day after another, the Lebanese Army and security forces continue to make achievements, arresting spying networks spread throughout the country. On Friday, Lebanese daily An-Nahar quoted high-level military sources as revealing that the Lebanese army has uncovered 25 cells spying for the Israeli Mossad and arrested since early 2009 six networks belonging to al-Qaeda group.
http://almanar. com.lb/NewsSite/ NewsDetails. aspx?id=88703&language=en
Hezbollah alliance has edge in Lebanon vote: pollsters
AFP - Shiite militant group Hezbollah and its allies are poised to defeat Lebanon's Western-backed parliamentary majority in this month's general election, pollsters said on Thursday.
http://news. yahoo.com/ s/afp/20090604/ wl_mideast_ afp/lebanonvote
Hezbollah waits for its moment
With the help of Christian votes, the Hezbollah-led opposition is expected in voting on Sunday to narrowly win enough seats for a majority in Lebanon's parliament. Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria and especially the United States are looking on with more than their usual interest at the most significant elections in the country's history.
http://www.atimes. com/atimes/ Middle_East/ KF06Ak03. html
Thousands of Lebanese expats arrive to cast their votes
Over 19,000 Lebanese arrived in Beirut over the past two days to participate in Sunday's polls, the national news agency reported on Thursday. The agency added that airport traffic was expected to increase during the few remaining days until the elections. The NNA said that some of the arrivals expressed hope that the elections.
http://www.dailysta r.com.lb/ article.asp? edition_id= 1&categ_id=2&article_id=102700
Lebanon Election a Regional Affair
Regardless of which bloc emerges victorious, it will be by a slim margin at best. So the true test for Lebanon will remain the post-election process, when the new Lebanese parliament will have to choose a new prime minister, form a new cabinet and decide whether the minority retains veto power in the parliament. In the past, these kinds of maneuverings have led to political deadlock, violence and bloodshed..
http://www.worldpol iticsreview. com/article. aspx?id=3867
US military aid at stake in Lebanon elections
AFP - The US administration will suspend its military aid to Lebanon if an alliance led by the Islamist group Hezbollah wins Sunday's elections, but will seek to maintain ties, experts say.
http://news. yahoo.com/ s/afp/20090604/ pl_afp/lebanonvo teusmilitaryaid
The Lebanese Armed Forces: The Case for Continuing Aid -- Come Hizballah or High Water
I have said before that -- now that I am no longer based in Beirut -- this blog is probably not the go-to place for in-depth commentary on the Lebanese elections. But in the next few paragraphs I am going to make a case for continuing aid to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) no matter the outcome of this weekend's poll.
http://abumuqawama. blogspot. com/2009/ 06/lebanese- armed-forces- case-for. html
Iraq
Thursday: 1 US Soldier, 2 Iraqis Killed; 14 Iraqis Wounded
At least two Iraqis were killed and 14 more were wounded in the latest attacks. Also, a U.S. soldier was killed in a Kirkuk province grenade attack, while a second U.S. soldier was wounded during an attack in Fallujah. Meanwhile, Romanian forces formally ended their mission during a ceremony attended by Romanian president Traian Basescu in Nasariya.
US soldier dies after Iraq grenade attack
AFP - An American soldier died following a grenade attack on his patrol in northern Iraq's tense city of Kirkuk on Thursday, the US Army said.
http://news. yahoo.com/ s/afp/20090604/ wl_mideast_ afp/iraqunrestus toll
Report Ties Dubious Iran Nuke Documents to Israel, By GARETH PORTER
A report on Iran's nuclear programme issued by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last month generated news stories publicising an incendiary charge that U.S. intelligence is underestimating Iran's progress in designing a "nuclear warhead" before the halt in nuclear weapons-related research in 2003.
http://www.counterp unch.org/ porter06042009. html
U.S.
"Guantanamo at Home": Muslim-American Syed Fahad Hashmi Held in 23-Hour Solitary Pre-Trial Confinement for Over Two Years in Case Resting on Plea-Bargaining Government Informant
One day after President Obama trumpeted the achievements and freedoms of Muslim-Americans in his celebrated Cairo speech, we look at the case of case of Syed Fahad Hashmi, a U.S. citizen who has been held in pre-trial 23-hour solitary confinement in a Manhattan federal prison for over two years.
http://www.democrac ynow.org/ 2009/6/5/ hashmi
Obama's visit to Egypt
Hamas and the Palestinian Authority react to Obama's speech
Bethlehem – Ma'an – The Palestinian Authority said it considered US President Barack Obama's speech in Cairo "a new and different American beginning and a new message to the Israelis," while Hamas said the remarks contained a number of good points.
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=38315
Hamas reaction to Obama
Joe Klein has a very interesting post up at Swampland. About an hour after the speech, Joe sat down with Khaled Meshal, the Hamas leader, in Damascus. His review? Not positive, but not wholly negative...
http://www.guardian .co.uk/commentis free/michaeltoma sky/2009/ jun/04/obama- hamas-cairo- speech
A Meeting in Damascus, Posted by Joe Klein
About an hour after Barack Obama's excellent Cairo speech, I met with Khaled Meshal, the leader of Hamas, at his office here to talk about the speech and the Israel-Palestine conflict. We spoke for several hours and I will have a fuller accounting of our conversation in my print column next week. Meshal speaks some English, but he feels more comfortable using an interpreter. He listened to my questions in English, asking occasionally for translation of a word or phrase, and gave his answers in Arabic. He never raised his voice or used militant language, but he never yielded on his basic position either.
http://swampland. blogs.time. com/2009/ 06/04/a-meeting- in-damascus/
Israel praises Obama speech, but says its security paramount
Settler leaders reacted with frustration in the wake of Obama's speech in Cairo on Thursday, Israel Radio reported.
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1090412. html
Israeli settlers left fuming after Obama's Cairo speech
Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies - Israeli settlers were incensed on Thursday following US President Barack Obama's address in Cairo to the Muslim world. "Only time will tell if the US president is Barak or Hussein," Yesha Council Director-General Pinchas Wallerstein said in response to the speech, according to the Israeli news agency Ynet.
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=38313
Palestinians pleased with Obama's Koran quotes
Sources within PA say US president understands Israeli-Palestinian conflict 'root cause' of Mideast stability; PRC spokesman says speech shows Obama constrained by 'Zionist lobby'.
http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 3726621,00. html
Hezbollah: Islamic world doesn't need sermons from Obama
"The Islamic world does not need moral or political sermons. It needs a fundamental change in American policy," said Lebanon MP Hassan Fadlallah of Hezbollah, referring to United States President Barack Obama's speech to the Muslim world.
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1090405. html
INSTANT VIEW: Reaction after Obama addresses Muslims
http://www.reuters. com/article/ GCA-BarackObama/ idUKTRE55335W200 90604?sp= true
Obama Cairo Speech Stirs Mixed Feelings in the Holy Land
Time.com - Palestinians are moved and Israelis concerned by the President's outreach to the Muslim world.
http://news. yahoo.com/ s/time/20090604/ wl_time/08599190 275800
Hezbollah: Obama Speech Signals No Real Change in US Policy
04/06/2009 MP in the Loyalty to the resistance parliamentary bloc Hassan Fadlallah told AFP that US President Barack Obama's landmark speech to Muslims on Thursday signals no real shift in US policy in the Arab world despite its conciliatory tone. "What we heard is a speech that reveals no real change to the position of US policy in the region."
http://www.almanar. com.lb/NewsSite/ NewsDetails. aspx?id=88616&language=en
Sadr: Obama has subtle plans to control world
Iraq's senior cleric Moqtada al-Sadr says Barack Obama's speech indicates that the US wants to take a different avenue to bring the world under its control. "The honeyed political speech expressed only one aim -- America wants to take a different avenue to bring the world under its control" compared to the former US president George W. Bush's strategies, Sadr said in a statement released to journalists in the holy city of Najaf on Thursday.
http://www.presstv. ir/detail. aspx?id=97099§ionid=351020201
On the street in the West Bank - Obama's speech was not as awe-inspiring as the pundits are saying
Bethlehem / PNN - Hussein is a 40 year old Palestinian with the same leanings as many in the West Bank — nationalist where it counts, leftist in his open-mindedness and with Islamic tendencies in his sense of tradition.
http://english. pnn.ps/index. php?option= com_content&task=view&id=5610
Great expectations met
Neither Tel Aviv nor Ramallah held their breaths Thursday as the American president gave a speech in Cairo; the traffic in both crowded cities continued normally. Tel Aviv was indifferent, Ramallah sunk in desperation: Both cities have already had their fill of nice, historic speeches.
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1090534. html
Obama's speech marks a strategic revolution for Israel
There have been American presidents who saw themselves as God's messengers on earth. There have been presidents who played the role of warrior on the battlefield of the superpowers. There have been presidents who rose through the political system and could pull the strings in Congress. Barack Obama is a rock star. He has total confidence in his powers of persuasion - if he can just have access to a platform, two teleprompters and airtime. Let him speak to the audience, any audience, and he'll sell them a new, friendly, considerate America. Obama's meteoric rise to the presidency and his massive popularity just go to show that his self-confidence is well founded.
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1090654. html
U.S. Jews split over Obama's Israel remarks in Cairo speech
Leaders of Jewish organizations in the United States were divided Thursday in their reactions to comments on Israel that President Barack Obama made in an address to the Muslim world in Cairo.
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1090457. html
US conservatives criticise Barack Obama over Cairo speech
US conservatives heaped scorn on Barack Obama's speech at Cairo University today, saying he assumed a false moral equivalence between the west and the Muslim world and apologised for past American actions while failing to hold Arab and Muslim states accountable for violent extremist groups.
http://www.guardian .co.uk/world/ 2009/jun/ 04/barack- obama-cairo- speech-republica ns
Obama Speech: Part Vapid and Part Sinister
I did not expect much. I mean, you know the routine by now. When presidents change, they merely change the Zionist Middle East "expert" at the White House who guides the president. Something happened in Middle East policy making in the White House in the Reagan administration. They no more trusted a real Middle East expert to guide policy making (this is party the obituary of the Arabists in Robert Kaplan's book by that name). You no more had a William Quandt at the White House: somebody who is a trained Middle East scholar who is truly balanced in his views of the Middle East. By the Reagan administration, that was killed. Reagan's White House had Geoffrey Kemp (who is now at the Nixon Center) and it went down hill from there. I met Kemp a few times and he is a nice guy but he is no William Quandt. Kemp looked at the Middle East from the standpoint of Cold War calculations and from the standpoint of what is best for American-Israeli relations. The George H.W. Bush's White House had Richard Haas he was no expert on the Middle East. Clinton selected Martin Indyk and that set the stage for the appointment of Zionist activists (with no Middle East expertise like Elliott Abrams) to take over Middle East policy making.
http://angryarab. blogspot. com/2009/ 06/obama- speech-part- vapid-and- part.html
See also Angry Arab interview on NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
http://www.pbs. org/newshour/ video/module. html?mod= 0&pkg=4062009&seg=4
Obama in Cairo: a Bush in sheep's clothing | Ali Abunimah
Fair enough, but did Obama really imagine that such words would impress an Arab public that watched in horror as Israel slaughtered 1,400 people in Gaza last winter, including hundreds of sleeping, fleeing or terrified children, with American-supplied weapons? Did he think his listeners would not remember that the number of Palestinian and Lebanese civilians targeted and killed by Israel has always far exceeded by orders of magnitude the number of Israelis killed by Arabs precisely because of the American arms he has pledged to continue giving Israel with no accountability? Amnesty International recently confirmed what Palestinians long knew: Israel broke the negotiated ceasefire when it attacked Gaza last November 4, prompting retaliatory rockets that killed no Israelis until after Israel launched its much bigger attack on Gaza. That he continues to remain silent about what happened in Gaza, and refuses to hold Israel accountable demonstrates anything but a commitment to full truth-telling.
http://www.guardian .co.uk/commentis free/2009/ jun/04/barack- obama-middleeast
"Chomsky on Obama Speech"
"In the background is the Obama administration' s goal, enunciated most clearly by Senator John Kerry, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to forge an alliance of Israel and the 'moderate' Arab states against Iran. The term 'moderate' has nothing to do with the character of the state, but rather signals its willingness to conform to U.S. demands."
http://mrzine. monthlyreview. org/chomsky04060 9..html
On the Cairo speech, by Stephen M. Walt
A few quick thoughts on President Obama'sCairo speech. Overall, Obama once again demonstrated his willingness and ability to wrestle with complex and difficult ideas in public. One of his hallmark features as a leader is to show respect for his listeners by appealing to their sense of reason. As he did in the "race" speech during the campaign, and in his Notre Dame speech on abortion, Obama acknowledged room for disagreement and contestation and showed that he understands and respects alternative views even when he does not share them. Yet there are also clear limits to his tolerance: the speech included a forthright rejection of violence, a reminder to his audience that his "first duty is to protect the American people" and that "al Qaeda killed 3,000 people on [9/11]," and a clear statement of the American commitment to basic human rights. In seeking a "new beginning," he didn't start with an act of appeasement.
http://walt. foreignpolicy. com/posts/ 2009/06/04/ on_the_cairo_ speech
Max Blumenthal: Feeling the Hate In Jerusalem on Eve of Obama's Cairo Address
Max Blumenthal writes: On the eve of President Barack Obama's address to the Muslim world from Cairo, Egypt, I stepped out onto the streets of Jerusalem with my friend Joseph Dana to interview young Israelis and American Jews about their reaction to the speech. We encountered rowdy groups of beer sodden twenty-somethings, many from the United States, and all eager to vent their visceral, even violent hatred of Barack Obama and his policies towards Israel. Usually I offer a brief commentary on my video reports, but this one requires no comment at all. Quite simply, it contains some of the most shocking footage I have ever filmed. Watch it and see if you agree. (Warning: this video contains profanity and material offensive to just about anyone.)
http://www.philipwe iss.org/mondowei ss/2009/06/ max-blumenthal- feeling-the- hate-in-jerusale m-on-eve- of-obamas- cairo-address. html
Hussein Ibish, a senior fellow at the American Task Force for Palestine, was bowled over:
"President Obama deservedly received a standing ovation from his audience at Cairo University today, after delivering a pitch-perfect and inspiring speech to the Arab and Muslim peoples," Ibish wrote on his blog. "The President's words were especially significant ... with regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, bluntly stating 'it is time for us to act on what everyone knows to be true,' which is that it is in 'Israel's interest, Palestine's interest, American interests and the world's interests' to achieve an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians that allows for the creation of a Palestinian state.'"
http://thecable. foreignpolicy. com/posts/ 2009/06/04/ obamas_cairo_ speech_rabbis
Some Dissenting Voices in Arab Blogosphere
If, like The Lede, you followed the State Department's global live Web chat immediately after President Barack Obama's speech to the Muslim world in Cairo this morning, you might have gotten the impression that an era of peace and good will was at hand.
http://thelede. blogs.nytimes. com/2009/ 06/04/some- dissenting- voices-in- arab-blogosphere /
Robert Fisk: Words that could heal wounds of centuries
Preacher, historian, economist, moralist, schoolteacher, critic, warrior, imam, emperor. Sometimes you even forgot Barack Obama was the President of the United States of America.
http://www.independ ent.co.uk/ opinion/commenta tors/fisk/ robert-fisk- words-that- could-heal- wounds-of- centuries- 1697417.html
When it comes to Obama's Cairo speech, what matters are actions, not fine words
Antony Loewenstein responds to Obama's speech in Cairo: Back in 2005, then US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice gave a rousing speech at Cairo's American University. "For sixty years", she argued, "my country, the United States, pursued stability at the expense of democracy in this region here in the Middle East – and we achieved neither. Now, we are taking a different course. We are supporting the democratic aspirations of all peoples."
http://www.philipwe iss.org/mondowei ss/2009/06/ loewenstein- obama-cairo- speech.html
Obama's speech marks the beginning of a real political test
Scott Mcconnell responds to Obama's speech in Cairo: The Obama speech was terrific, for its build up and atmospherics, and for its relative specificity about Israel-Palestine. Of course it was only a speech and no one know what policies will flow from it, but the acknowledgment of that important word, "humiliation"—that Israel (with American support) have imposed on the Palestinians goes a long way. So too the use of the word, "Palestine", instead of the more amorphous and distancing "Palestinian state."
http://www.philipwe iss.org/mondowei ss/2009/06/ obamas-speech- is-the-beginning -of-a-political- test.html
Changing the Discourse: First Step toward Changing the Policy?
President Barack Obama's much-anticipated Cairo speech reflected a significant shift away from the ideological framework of militarism and unilateralism that shaped the Bush administration' s war-based policy towards the Arab and Muslim worlds. His "not Bush" focus was perhaps most sharply evident in his public denunciation of the Iraq War as a "war of choice." Obama's call for a "new beginning" based on "the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition" was followed by a move to shift the official U.S. discourse towards something closer to internationalism - particularly by pointing to parallels between historical (and some contemporary) grievances and treating them as equivalent. This included his reference to the U.S. "role in the overthrow of a democratically elected Iranian government" along with Iran's "role in acts of hostage-taking and violence against U.S. troops and civilians."
http://www.zmag. org/zspace/ commentaries/ 3885
We wanted a world leader. We saw only a US president | Ahdaf Soueif
Obama's long-awaited speech demonstrated little to suggest America will pursue any course beyond its own interests. This is hard. It's hard because we so need to believe that Obama is about change, that he's wise, that he's good, that he has the interests of the world – rather than just the interests of the United States – at heart.
http://www.guardian .co.uk/commentis free/2009/ jun/05/barack- obama-cairo
Obama in Cairo: Is Obama's change simply cosmetic? | Khaled Diab
Obama may gain some trust, but America's deceptive belief that it is not an empire condemns its leader to repeating old mistakes. Obama's masterful Cairo speech is an eloquent sign that Washington is under new management, but can his shift in rhetoric deliver the kind of change Arabs and Muslims can believe in?
http://www.guardian .co.uk/commentis free/2009/ jun/05/obama- cairo-america
Satire: That will change Arab perceptions of the US
"Shoukran," Mr. Obama replied, which in Arabic means "thank you.""Look how nice, how sensitive, and how humane. Why did not other presidents think of that. If only that word was used before. I mean, if you print the word "shoukran" (it should be "shukran" but hey, it is the New York Times), on bombs and missiles that are being dropped on Arabs and Muslims, I think that they will no more mind US wars. Really. Just by using the word, Obama guaranteed a switch in Arab/Muslim public perceptions of the US. In fact, I once entered a French restaurant in Paris: and I started to hit customers and trashing the place. When some customers gathered to attack me, I yelled: "Merci." With that, the entire crowd started to cheer and they went to the kitchen to bake me a croissant. You should try that trick sometimes. "Thank you." [end]
http://angryarab. blogspot. com/2009/ 06/that-will- change-arab- perceptios- of-us.html
Amalek By The Fourth Of July
The evolution of President Obama: On 31 May, he was an Egyptian Pharoah (via Mondoweiss); An Anti-Semitic Jew-hater by 3 June; Today, secretly German! My predictions: Hitler by this time next week; Amalek by July 4; Rodef by Thanksgiving.
http://lawrenceofcy beria.blogs. com/news/ 2009/06/amalek- by-the-fourth- of-july.html
Deconstructing Obama's Cairo Speech
Barack Obama's speech today in Cairo was meant to establish a new relationship between the United States and the Arab world. To the extent that shifting American foreign policy is possible, it is not clear Obama will achieve this grand goal.
Actually there were no grand transformations envisioned, just steps and stages proposed since "change cannot happen overnight," but even those did not strike me as achievable (maybe except for the polio project with the Organization of the Islamic Conference). .
http://www.kabobfes t.com/2009/ 06/deconstructin g-obamas- cairo-speech. html
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