http://www.sott.net Signs of the Times, featuring news and commentary on world events. Never wavering in our unending search for the light of truth in a pathocracy driven world! en-us Original content Copyright 2009 by Signs of the Times. For other content, see our Fair Use Policy at www.sott.net Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:11:30 -0500 http://www.sott.net/images/sottlogo_rss.jpg SOTT.net http://www.sott.net http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197387-Israeli-High-Court-turns-blind-eye-to-illegal-settlement-construction Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch accused the government on Wednesday of ignoring illegal settlement construction in one of several barbed remarks that could presage a first High Court of Justice decision ordering the demolition of illegal housing in the West Bank. Beinisch made the comments while hearing a petition from Palestinian-rights advocacy group Yesh Din, which is asking the court to compel the government to implement an existing demolition order for nine homes in the West Bank settlement of Ofra. Yesh Din argues that the homes were built on private Palestinian land, and while the government conceded on Wednesday that it is not claiming the construction is legal, it said the demolition orders would be carried out in order of priority. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197387-Israeli-High-Court-turns-blind-eye-to-illegal-settlement-construction Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:11:02 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197361-Nasrallah-re-elected-as-Hezbollah-Secretary-General The Secretary General of Hezbollah movement, Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, has been re-elected chief of the Lebanese resistance movement for a sixth term. The resistance movement announced its decision following a congress that also adopted a new manifesto on Thursday. Hezbollah issued a statement declaring that it has endorsed "a number of organizational amendments that fit the new developing nature of its movement and path in the recent years on various aspects." The statement further added that Sheikh Naim Qassem has been re-elected as the movement's Deputy Secretary General. The Thursday statement however did not mention when senior Hezbollah officials voted to re-elect Nasrallah as the resistance movement's Secretary General. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197361-Nasrallah-re-elected-as-Hezbollah-Secretary-General Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:46:12 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197339-Iran-unveils-new-plan-to-counter-fuel-sanctions Iran's Oil Minister Masoud Mir-Kazemi has unveiled a plan to counter possible fuel sanctions against the oil-rich country. According to the plan, the Iranian petrochemical plants, such as Imam Khomeini, Bou Ali Sina and Borzouyeh, are equipped to produce about 14 million liters of gasoline per day if they have to. Iran, OPEC's second largest oil exporter, only produces 60 percent of its domestic gasoline demand and imports the remaining 40 percent. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197339-Iran-unveils-new-plan-to-counter-fuel-sanctions Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:27:05 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197336-Rebuilding-Its-Economy-Iraq-Shuns-U-S-Businesses Iraq's Baghdad Trade Fair ended Tuesday, six years and a trillion dollars after the American invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, and one country was conspicuously absent. That would be the country that spent a trillion dollars - on the invasion and occupation, but also on training and equipping Iraqi security forces, and on ambitious reconstruction projects in every province aimed at rebuilding the country and restarting the economy. Yet when the post-Saddam Iraqi government swept out its old commercial fairgrounds and invited companies from around the world, the United States was not much in evidence among the 32 nations represented. Of the 396 companies that exhibited their wares, "there are two or three American participants, but I can't remember their names," said Hashem Mohammed Haten, director general of Iraq's state fair company. A pair of missiles atop a ceremonial gateway to the fairgrounds recalled an era when Saddam Hussein had pretensions, if not weapons, of mass destruction. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197336-Rebuilding-Its-Economy-Iraq-Shuns-U-S-Businesses Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:08:34 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197334-If-it-was-a-war-for-oil-the-US-lost Although the Bush administration denied it, the conventional wisdom on the part of the anti-war movement was that the war on Iraq was launched in order for the US to take over Saddam's oil supplies which would give Washington an even more dominant position in the region. That there was no concrete evidence that the war was supported by the oil companies was discounted and, as it had been in 1991 during the first Gulf War, "No blood for oil!"became the battle cry. If the war was indeed about oil, then, as the NY Times reported on Friday, the US lost. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197334-If-it-was-a-war-for-oil-the-US-lost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:33:42 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197333-EU-Obama-Settlement-construction-could-threaten-peace-progress French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner on Wednesday said an Israeli decision to build hundreds of homes in East Jerusalem was not an obstacle to peace talks, despite international condemnation of the plan. In Jaffa, speaking to reporters at the home of the French ambassador to Israel, Kouchner said he had understood from Prime Minister Netanyahu that the move was only in the stages of planning, which he accepted. The French foreign minister met with opposition leader Tzipi Livni earlier in the day. He told her that, "The coming days are a test for the Israeli government." http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197333-EU-Obama-Settlement-construction-could-threaten-peace-progress Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:30:48 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197332-Iraq-VP-vetoes-new-election-law Iraq's vice-president has vetoed part of the country's new election law, placing plans for holding general elections in January in jeopardy. Tariq al-Hashemi said on Wednesday he objected to Article I of the law because it did not give a voice to Iraqis abroad, many of whom are Sunni Muslims who fled the country during sectarian fighting after the US-led invasion in 2003. "On November 15, I sent a letter to parliament asking for the law to be amended. Parliament said I could veto the contested first article [of the law], which is what I have done today," al-Hashemi said. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197332-Iraq-VP-vetoes-new-election-law Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:26:18 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197315-Video-No-Way-Through Imagine if your country was controlled by the military and you had to go through specific checkpoints to go to school, go to work, visit your friends or go to the hospital. Warning - Contains Strong Language http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197315-Video-No-Way-Through Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:53:28 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197314-Norman-Finkelstein-Interviewed-on-Danish-TV Norman Finkelstein interviewed on Danish public service TV by Jewish, and pro-Zionist host Adam Holm. Adam Holm was corrected by his superiors from Danmarks Radio recently for having published a news paper article expressing his strong support for Israel. On this occation a stoic Finkelstein manages to get Adam Holm off balance as Holm more and more desperately tries to counter Finkelsteins simple message: Uphold international law in connection with Israel as with any other state. Adam Holms clearly emotional approach says more than a thousand words. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197314-Norman-Finkelstein-Interviewed-on-Danish-TV Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:41:34 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197309-Israel-should-hope-that-the-UK-Labour-party-beats-the-Scottish-National-Party Parliamentary by-elections in Britain are usually the last thing on the mind of citizens of this country, but Israelis should be cheered by the news that the Labor Party, led by Gordon Brown, has beaten back the Scottish National Party (SNP) in a crucial contest in the commercial city of Glasgow. The SNP is mounting the most serious challenge to the Union of Scotland and England in three centuries. The next British general election will be a battle for Britain, and the outcome could matter immensely to Israel. Gordon Brown is probably the most pro-Israeli British premier ever. As he recounted in an emotional address to the Knesset shortly after taking office, he has had a deep affection and respect for Israel dating back to his boyhood. His father was a minister of the Church of Scotland who learned Hebrew and travelled back and forth to the Holy Land at least twice every year, as chairman of the Israel committee. After each trip, he would roll out an old film projector and regale young Gordon with favorable images of Israel. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197309-Israel-should-hope-that-the-UK-Labour-party-beats-the-Scottish-National-Party Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:59:46 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197281-The-Complete-Guide-to-Killing-Non-Jews It is rather impossible to grasp the magnitude of the crimes against humanity performed by the Jewish state in the name of the Jewish people unless one elaborates on Jewish culture in the light of Judaic teaching. Zionism was founded as a secular movement. It was there to provide the emancipated Diaspora Jew with a 'national home land' of his or her own. However, Zionism was rather effective in transforming the Old Testament from a spiritual text into a land registry. As the truth of Israeli barbarism is unfolding a devastating continuum is being established between Israeli murderous policies and Judaic Goy hating. It would be fair to argue that Judaic teaching is not monolithic. As we know, one of the only Jewish collectives that stands with the Palestinians call themselves the Torah Jews (Neturei Karta), a Jewish orthodox sect. In other words, the Torah must have a humanist side to it. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197281-The-Complete-Guide-to-Killing-Non-Jews Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:51:25 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197273-Fun-and-games-in-Arabia-Houthis-destroy-Saudi-tanks-Humvees The Houthi fighters say they have destroyed several Saudi Arabian military vehicles as Riyadh continues targeting Houthis north of Yemen. The Shia fighters say they have destroyed six Humvees (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle) and three tanks in the northern provinces of Omran and Harf Sufyan. On Wednesday, the Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of relentless missile attacks and artillery fire against civilians on the Yemeni soil. The Saudis reportedly fired over 150 missiles and carried out 18 airstrikes. Yemeni and Saudi forces have been jointly pounding the Houthis who have taken arms in protest to the Sunni-dominated Sana'a government's repression and discrimination against the country's Shia minority. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197273-Fun-and-games-in-Arabia-Houthis-destroy-Saudi-tanks-Humvees Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:00:04 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197269-Norwegian-doctor-Israel-is-a-terrorist-state Dr. Mads Gilbert has accused Israel of being a "terrorist state" led by losers, whose natural place is in prison after standing trial at the international court of justice for their crimes against the Palestinian people. The Norwegian doctor told Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper published on Sunday in London that he supported the Palestinian people's right of choosing their representatives when asked about Israeli charges that he was dealing with Hamas leaders. He said that Israel did not table a single proof to refute "our evidence and testimonies". The doctor said that he was not frustrated because of the Israeli lies, adding, "We must be patient ... history taught us that many empires that lasted for centuries had collapsed in the end ... we must be optimistic because if we let down that means that we betrayed the Palestinian people". http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197269-Norwegian-doctor-Israel-is-a-terrorist-state Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:01:57 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197268-The-Berlin-Wall-in-Palestine-Palestinians-remember-the-Fall-of-the-Wall-by-tearing-down-a-chunk-of-the-Zionist-Wall On the ninth of November 2009 hundreds of thousands of Germans celebrated the twentieth anniversary of removing the wall of shame in Berlin, which was razed in 1989. Many leaders of the EU and the rest of the world, as well as many representatives of religious communities, of social, governmental and non-governmental institutions were seen among the Germans celebrators. These leaders are the same politicians who supported the Zionists in building the apartheid wall on Palestinian land, ignoring in that the decision of the International Tribunal, which confirmed the illegality of the wall and demanded that Israel dismantle it. These same "leaders" have sold at a discount or even gifted the terrorist and criminal organization "State of Israel" with modern weapons while at the same time the citizens of their countries descend into abject misery. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197268-The-Berlin-Wall-in-Palestine-Palestinians-remember-the-Fall-of-the-Wall-by-tearing-down-a-chunk-of-the-Zionist-Wall Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:59:03 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197267-In-Iran-cyber-police-swing-into-action Amid the growing use of the Internet in Iran, a senior Iranian police official says a special unit to monitor Internet crimes has sprung into action in the country. Speaking to Iran's Labor News Agency (ILNA) on Friday, head of the police unit in charge of countering Internet crimes General Mehdi Omidi said the special committee would act against "attempted fraud, illegal advertising, insults and spreading lies and falsehood." "The police will also intervene in political matters in case an illegal act takes place [on the Internet]," Gen. Omidi told ILNA. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197267-In-Iran-cyber-police-swing-into-action Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:42:36 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197261-IDF-shoots-protestors-demonstrating-against-the-Apartheid-Wall-with-live-ammunition Protesters say the Israel Defense Forces used live ammunition from Ruger rifles last Friday to disperse a demonstration near the separation fence at the West Bank town of Na'alin. In 2001, the military advocate general ordered a halt to the use of such rifles for crowd control. Two injured protesters told other demonstrators that a soldier had fired at them from about 40 meters away while they were throwing stones at a jeep parked at an IDF outpost. In June a 35-year-old Na'alin resident, Aqel Srur, was killed when a member of the Border Police fired a .22-caliber bullet at him. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197261-IDF-shoots-protestors-demonstrating-against-the-Apartheid-Wall-with-live-ammunition Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:54:35 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197258-UN-chief-to-Israel-End-provocative-actions-in-East-Jerusalem United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday urged Israel to halt what he called "provocative" actions in East Jerusalem after another Palestinian family was evicted from its home. "These actions stoke tensions, cause suffering and further undermine trust," said Ban in a statement issued by his spokesperson. Ban called on Israel to "cease such provocative actions," and to implement its commitments under the Road Map peace plan by freezing all settlement activity, including natural growth; dismantling outposts; and reopening Palestinian institutions in East Jerusalem. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197258-UN-chief-to-Israel-End-provocative-actions-in-East-Jerusalem Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:17:06 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197255-Like-vultures-after-carrion-Outcry-against-colonial-takeover-by-BP-of-Rumaila-oilfield-in-Iraq The British oil giant BP will today take control of Iraq's biggest oilfield in the first important energy deal since the 2003 invasion. The move has created uproar among local politicians invoking resentful memories of their nation's colonial past. The agreement to develop the Rumaila field, near the southern city of Basra, will potentially put Iraq on the path to rivalling the riches of Saudi Arabia within a decade - if the Government can fend off corrupt officials, continuing terrorist attacks on pipelines and political uncertainty. Many Iraqi MPs say that the deal is illegal, and that the constitution should give them, not the Oil Minister, the final say over the country's vast resources. BP will develop the field, believed to hold about 17 billion barrels of oil, with CNPC, a Chinese oil producer and supplier. Along with other agreements to be signed this year, BP's presence is forecast to increase Iraqi production from 2.5 million barrels a day to 7 million in about six years. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197255-Like-vultures-after-carrion-Outcry-against-colonial-takeover-by-BP-of-Rumaila-oilfield-in-Iraq Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:10:22 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197240-IDF-refusal-will-bring-about-Israel-s-collapse-warns-Netanyahu Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday warned that Israel Defense Forces soldiers who refused service or orders would contribute to the collapse of the State of Israel. "The IDF was established on the basis of hierarchy in the ranks," said Netanyahu. "If you want to get rid of the IDF, then support refusal - it will bring about the collapse of the state." Israel's security and existence are reliant on the IDF, said Netanyahu, and thus "there is absolutely no place" in the army for such behavior. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197240-IDF-refusal-will-bring-about-Israel-s-collapse-warns-Netanyahu Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:23:47 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197203-Carry-on-regardless-Israel-steps-up-ethnic-cleansing-of-West-Bank The US and UN have criticised Israel's approval of 900 extra housing units at a Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the move would hamper Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Their remarks came after Israel's interior ministry approved planning applications for the new units. The planning and construction committee authorised the expansion of Gilo, which is built on land captured in 1967. The land was later annexed to the Jerusalem municipality. Meanwhile, Israeli bulldozers have demolished two homes in East Jerusalem, a further cause of Palestinian anger. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197203-Carry-on-regardless-Israel-steps-up-ethnic-cleansing-of-West-Bank Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:44:45 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197197-Israel-approves-900-more-settler-homes The move, despite demands for a freeze by the Palestinians, also undermined Nicolas Sarkozy, just as the French president arrived in Saudi Arabia to push for a Middle East peace conference. It lessens still further the chance of any meaningful negotations between the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Mahmoud Abbas, the beleaguered president of the Palestinian Authority. Mr Abbas, under pressure from his own Fatah party as well as the militant group Hamas, which has control over the Gaza strip, has said he will not agree to talks until there is a freeze on settlement building. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197197-Israel-approves-900-more-settler-homes Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:56:05 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197185-European-Union-Israel-s-Settlement-Expansion-in-Jerusalem-is-Illegal The European Union (EU) expressed its dismay on Wednesday for Israel's decision on the expansion of the settlement of Gilo in East Jerusalem. "The presidency recalls that settlement activities, house demolitions and evictions in East Jerusalem are illegal under international law," Sweden, which is current rotating presidency of the EU, said a statement. Such activities also prejudge the outcome of final status negotiations and threaten the viability of a two-state solution. The presidency recalls that the European Union has never recognized the annexation of East Jerusalem in 1967 nor the subsequent 1980 basic law," said the statement. "Actions taken by the Israeli government contravene repeated calls by the international community, including the Quartet, and run counter to the creation of an atmosphere conducive to achieving a viable and credible solution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians," the statement added. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197185-European-Union-Israel-s-Settlement-Expansion-in-Jerusalem-is-Illegal Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:45:06 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197141-UN-nuclear-chief-in-secret-talks-with-Iran-over-deal-to-end-sanctions The U.N. nuclear watchdog and Iranian officials met secretly on a deal to lift sanctions and allow Iran to keep most of its nuclear program, officials said. The 13-point agreement was drafted in September by Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, to try to break the stalemate over Iran's nuclear program before he leaves at the end of November, The Times of London, which reviewed a draft document, said. While IAEA denied the document's existence, The Times said it received a copy of the documentfrom a party that said it was alarmed by the contents. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197141-UN-nuclear-chief-in-secret-talks-with-Iran-over-deal-to-end-sanctions Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:39:01 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197136-Israeli-army-arrests-Palestinian-woman-for-refusing-to-strip A woman who refused to remove her clothes in front of Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint in Hebron was detained and taken to an Israeli prison facility Tuesday afternoon, local sources said. Umm Wisam Dovch approached the Martyrs street checkpoint in central Hebron, and was asked to remove layers of her clothing so soldiers could search her person after she passed through metal detectors at the military post. When the middle-age woman refused to remove her clothing she was struck several times by one of the soldiers and forced into a military vehicle. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197136-Israeli-army-arrests-Palestinian-woman-for-refusing-to-strip Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:20:05 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197130-The-Invention-of-the-Jewish-People Every nation cherishes its own myths and legends. Most Americans believe themselves to be anti-imperialists, though their ancestors colonised a continent, almost annihilating its native inhabitants. The French fancy themselves descended from ancient Gauls, though like the rest of us they are mongrels. But Israel's favoured historical narrative possesses ­special significance, because it defines the state's ­proclaimed right to existence. It holds that the world's Jews are descended from the ancient tribes of Israel, evicted by the Romans following the fall of the temple in AD70, and today permitted to return to their rightful homeland after almost 2,000 years of foreign persecution. Shlomo Sand, who teaches contemporary history at Tel Aviv University, rejects most of this as myth. He argues that the alleged history of the Jewish people has been distorted, reshaped or invented in modern times to fit the political requirements of Zionism. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197130-The-Invention-of-the-Jewish-People Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:44:03 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197129-Iran-Rabbi-Urges-Jews-to-Burn-Controversial-Book-Used-by-Israeli-Zionists-to-Justify-the-Murder-of-Innocents A prominent rabbi of the Iranian Jewish community has urged his congregation to burn The King's Torah, a controversial book, which supports the murder of non-Jews. In his recently released book, Rabbi Yitzhak Shapiro, who heads the Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva (religious school) in the occupied West Bank, endorses the murder of non-Jews -- even babies and children -- if they pose an actual or potential threat to Israel. The book, co-authored by Yossi Elitzur, states that Jews are allowed to kill ""those who, by speech, weaken our sovereignty"", adding that it is permissible ""to kill the Righteous among Nations even if they are not responsible for the threatening situation."" The decree is backed by several Israeli rabbis including Yitzhak Ginsburg and Yaakov Yosef. Shapiro claims that the Torah and Talmud fully justify his edict. The Iranian rabbi, however, said on Monday that the book's message, in fact, directly contradicted the teachings of Moses. Rabbi Golestaninejad said the book was not based on the tenets of the Jewish faith. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197129-Iran-Rabbi-Urges-Jews-to-Burn-Controversial-Book-Used-by-Israeli-Zionists-to-Justify-the-Murder-of-Innocents Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:21:47 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197084-Hamas-Israel-fabricating-pretext-for-new-Gaza-war Hamas on Saturday accused Israel of fabricating a pretext for a new offensive in the Gaza Strip, after Israel said the Islamist militant group had test-fired a rocket that could reach Tel Aviv. "These claims are part of the Israeli lies to justify a new aggression on the Gaza Strip," said Fawzi Barhoum, Hamas' spokesman in Gaza, in a statement. "Such threats are coming under the title of incitement and creating pretexts in order to commit more new crimes against Gaza and cover up the previous crimes that were committed during the last war." He was referring to the Israel Defense Forces' winter campaign against Hamas in Gaza, code-named Operation Cast Lead, whose stated goal was to halt cross-border rocket fire by militants in the coastal strip. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197084-Hamas-Israel-fabricating-pretext-for-new-Gaza-war Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:06:02 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197082-Israel-using-Palestinians-as-guinea-pigs-for-pharmaceutical-drugs The Sawasya Center for Human Rights has stated that the Israel is using Palestinians held in its detention centers as guinea pigs to test the effectiveness of new drugs manufactured by its health industry. According to the Palestinian Information Center, the Cairo-based rights center cited evidence that Israeli interrogators gave prisoner Zuhair al-Iskafi and several other Palestinian inmates an injection which resulted in complete loss of their hair on the head and body -- a medical condition referred to as alopecia universalis. The Sawasya Center called on human rights organizations and the World Health Organization to dispatch a delegation of medical experts to Israel to examine Palestinian detainees allegedly subjected to these tests. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197082-Israel-using-Palestinians-as-guinea-pigs-for-pharmaceutical-drugs Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:20:53 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197066-Palestinians-Consider-Going-to-the-UN-for-Recognition-as-a-State The Palestinian leadership is making medium-term preparations to go to the United Nations to ask for a declaration of a Palestinian state within 1967 borders (i.e. in the West Bank and Gaza). The move comes because the Obama administration's attempts to kickstart the peace process have crashed and burned, as Elaf pointed out. The Obama team told far rightwing Likud Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that Israel was to cease creating new colonies on the West Bank in preparation for the resumption of talks. Netanyahu defied Obama, insisting that new Israeli squatter settlements would be started in the Palestinian West Bank. The Palestinian leadership had made an Israeli settlement freeze a prerequisite for new talks, and so refused to sit down with the Israelis as long as the latter were stealing ever more Palestinian land. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197066-Palestinians-Consider-Going-to-the-UN-for-Recognition-as-a-State Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:32:08 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197060-Palestine-The-New-State-Solution The collapse of the Palestinian Authority, the result of Israel's 42-year refusal to implement a two-state solution, leaves the Palestinians no option but to unilaterally declare an independent state. Israel acted unilaterally when it announced independence in 1948. It is the Palestinians' turn. It worked in Kosovo. It worked in Georgia. And it will work in Palestine. There are 192 member states in the United Nations and as many as 150 would recognize the state of Palestine, creating a diplomatic nightmare for Israel and its lonely ally the United States. Israel will face worldwide censure if it attempts to crush the independent state by force and very likely be subjected to the kind of divestment campaigns and boycotts that brought down the apartheid government of South Africa. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197060-Palestine-The-New-State-Solution Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:53:08 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197038-Swedish-reporter-in-Israel-Not-all-criticism-of-you-is-anti-Semitism- Donald Bostrom didn't know he needed this. With Moses, a gigantic bodyguard in a suit and tie watching over his Tel Aviv hotel room with an earpiece and a concealed gun; with a handful of demonstrators who greeted him in the wee hours of the morning at Ben-Gurion International Airport; and with the program for his visit to Israel, in which it is explained that during his trip to attend the Dimona Media Conference, he will be accompanied by two bodyguards, that the details of his visit will be "classified" and that he will wait in a "security room" before and after an interview to be conducted with him today by Yair Lapid. Donald Bostrom didn't know he needed this. He arrived here Sunday, in an attempt to explain to Israelis what he meant in his scandalous article about alleged organ harvesting by the Israel Defense Forces - a brave step on his part and a no-less-brave step on the part of the organizers of the Dimona conference - who were already attacked by Minister Silvan Shalom, who decided to boycott the gathering and withdraw the money his ministry had pledged to the conference. "Is it possible here to retroactively cancel an allocation for a conference?" asks the musician and exiled artist Dror Feiler, who is accompanying Bostrom on his visit, and who also had a scandal in his past, the scandal of the blood in the "Snow White and The Madness of Truth" installation he exhibited in Stockholm in January 2004. Bostrom seems a little embarrassed about the reception he is getting. We ate breakfast at his hotel, which borders on Am Yisrael Hai ("the people of Israel live") Street, and then we went up to his room which overlooks the sea. There he showed me the pictures he had taken of the body of the stone thrower, Bilal Ghanan, from the village of Imatin in the northern West Bank who had been shot by IDF soldiers on May 13, 1992. The mortally wounded Ghanan was evacuated to the hospital by an Israel army helicopter and his dead body was returned to his family five days later, sewn up along its length, while Bostrom was in the village. Bostrom says the family is entitled to know what happened to their son, why his body was autopsied without his family's permission and whether the rumors are correct that his internal organs were removed at the Abu Kabir Institute of Forensic Medicine. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197038-Swedish-reporter-in-Israel-Not-all-criticism-of-you-is-anti-Semitism- Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:26:34 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197029-Gunmen-in-Army-Uniforms-Kill-12-Iraqi-Villagers Gunmen wearing military uniforms shot dead at least 12 men in a pre-dawn attack in a village near Baghdad on Monday, villagers and police said. The attack took place in the mainly Sunni village of Zauba, west of Baghdad, which at the height of the fighting in Iraq was viewed as a hotbed of support for Sunni Islamist insurgents. One of those killed was affiliated with the main Sunni Arab political party, the Iraqi Islamic Party, police said. Villagers said some were members of formerly U.S.-backed neighborhood militias that turned on al Qaeda. The office of the spokesman for security in Baghdad, Major General Qassim al-Moussawi, said 13 people had been killed. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197029-Gunmen-in-Army-Uniforms-Kill-12-Iraqi-Villagers Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:23:39 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197007-Rumbled-Mossad-gaffe-reveals-Iran-ship-photos-were-forged After Israel released photos it said proved that a huge shipment of weapons for Hezbollah came from Tehran, Iranian news agencies publish evidence showing that the photos are forged. Israeli naval sources recently claimed that they found a large cache of Iranian-made arms when they stormed a vessel near Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea. They claimed that the ship was heading for the Hezbollah resistance movement, either in Lebanon or Syria. Iran instantly dismissed the claims, issuing a statement with which it condemned Israel's many acts of piracy in international waters. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197007-Rumbled-Mossad-gaffe-reveals-Iran-ship-photos-were-forged Mon, 16 Nov 2009 06:50:03 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196997-Iran-warning-over-Yemen-conflict Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has warned against foreign intervention in the conflict between the Yemeni government and rebels. Unidentified parties were adding fuel to the crisis, and attempts to help or to take military action would have negative consequences, Mr Mottaki said. Correspondents say his comments appear to have been intended for Saudi Arabia. Shortly afterwards, Riyadh promised it would continue air strikes until the rebels moved back from its border. "We are not going to stop the bombing until [they] retreat tens of kilometres inside [the Yemeni] border," Deputy Defence Minister Prince Khaled Bin Sultan said, according to the Agence France-Presse news agency. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196997-Iran-warning-over-Yemen-conflict Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:49:54 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196986-Goldstone-to-Haaretz-U-S-does-not-have-to-protect-Israel-blindly Judge Richard Goldstone told Haaretz Thursday that President Shimon Peres' remarks criticizing him were "specious and ill-befitting the head of State of Israel." Peres was quoted Wednesday as calling Goldstone "a small man, devoid of any sense of justice, a technocrat with no real understanding of jurisprudence," who was "on a one-sided mission to hurt Israel." In Thursday's interview by e-mail with Haaretz, Goldstone said: "I am content to be judged by my actions over the course of my career both in terms of my professional judicial career and my voluntary service." http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196986-Goldstone-to-Haaretz-U-S-does-not-have-to-protect-Israel-blindly Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:20:58 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196970-Palestinians-say-dozens-of-trees-cut-down-by-settlers Burin resident discovers 97 of his olive trees destroyed overnight. 'When I saw the massacre which took place on my land, I cried,' he tells Ynet Palestinian farmers from the West Bank village of Burin, located near the settlement of Yitzhar, discovered Thursday morning that dozens of their olive trees were cut down. Akram Amram of Burin told Ynet that at around 5:30 am he had discovered 97 uprooted olive trees on his land. "I am not embarrassed to admit that when I discovered the massacre which took place on my land, I cried," he said. "These trees are more than 60 years old and I raised them just like I raised my kids." http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196970-Palestinians-say-dozens-of-trees-cut-down-by-settlers Sun, 15 Nov 2009 13:16:38 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196956-Huge-rise-in-birth-defects-in-Falluja Iraqi former battle zone sees abnormal clusters of infant tumours and deformities Doctors in Iraq's war-ravaged enclave of Falluja are dealing with up to 15 times as many chronic deformities in infants and a spike in early life cancers that may be linked to toxic materials left over from the fighting. The extraordinary rise in birth defects has crystallised over recent months as specialists working in Falluja's over-stretched health system have started compiling detailed clinical records of all babies born. Neurologists and obstetricians in the city interviewed by the Guardian say the rise in birth defects - which include a baby born with two heads, babies with multiple tumours, and others with nervous system problems - are unprecedented and at present unexplainable. A group of Iraqi and British officials, including the former Iraqi minister for women's affairs, Dr Nawal Majeed a-Sammarai, and the British doctors David Halpin and Chris Burns-Cox, have petitioned the UN general assembly to ask that an independent committee fully investigate the defects and help clean up toxic materials left over decades of war - including the six years since Saddam Hussein was ousted. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196956-Huge-rise-in-birth-defects-in-Falluja Sun, 15 Nov 2009 11:26:49 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196946-US-Military-Denies-Funding-Yet-Another-Counter-Terrorist-Operation-in-Yemen The Pentagon said on Friday the United States had not signed a military cooperation deal with Yemen, refuting a report from Sanaa's official news agency. "There were no agreements signed," spokesman Bryan Whitman told AFP. But US military officers had recently held two days of talks with their Yemeni counterparts, he said. "The United States values its relationship with Yemeni military forces and remains committed to improving the relationship," he said. Yemen's official Saba news agency said on Wednesday that the two countries had signed a military cooperation agreement during talks in the capital Sanaa. Yemen is Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's ancestral homeland and has been a major focus of the jihadist network's activities. In October 2000, Al-Qaeda militants attacked the destroyer USS Cole off the southern port of Aden, killing 17 US sailors. After the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, Washington made Yemen a major focus of its operations against Al-Qaeda. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196946-US-Military-Denies-Funding-Yet-Another-Counter-Terrorist-Operation-in-Yemen Sun, 15 Nov 2009 09:11:18 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196938-Israel-s-Dark-View-of-the-World Many Israelis see little need for a peace settlement but feel isolated in what they regard as an increasingly hostile world The official explained to Bibi Netanyahu that if there was a peace settlement, extra investment would push Israel's long-term growth rate from 5% a year to 7%. The Israeli prime minister responded that if the country had 5% growth, it did not need peace. Netanyahu was joking, according to the official who recounted the story - but the quip highlights a serious point. There is no prospect of a settlement between Israelis and Palestinians, and many Israelis are fairly relaxed about that. During a recent visit to Israel, I met very few people who were optimistic about the peace process. Netanyahu says he supports the creation of a Palestinian state. But the terms he is offering - with much of the hypothetical state's security under Israeli control - would not be acceptable to any Palestinian leader. Netanyahu's coalition government shows no signs of offering the Palestinians the kinds of concession - such as freezing settlements - that would make a peace deal possible. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196938-Israel-s-Dark-View-of-the-World Sun, 15 Nov 2009 06:58:43 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196937-Israel-Personally-Attacking-Human-Rights-Group-After-Gaza-War-Criticism Human Rights Watch denies having political agenda or seeking funds from Saudi Arabia America's leading human rights organisation has accused Israel and its supporters of an "organised campaign" of false allegations and misinformation, including "extremely personal attacks" on its staff, in an attempt to discredit the group over its reports of war crimes in Gaza. Human Rights Watch (HRW) ties the campaign - which has included accusations that the group's reports on the Jewish state are written by "anti-Israel ideologues" and that it has sought funds from Saudi Arabia - to a statement by a senior official in the Israeli prime minister's office in June pledging to "dedicate time and manpower to combating" human rights organisations. The criticism began with Israeli pressure groups and rightwing blogs, but in recent weeks it has drawn the support of influential individuals such as Elie Wiesel, the Holocaust survivor and Nobel peace prize winner, and HRW's own founder, Robert Bernstein, who said the organisation's reports were "helping those who wish to turn Israel into a pariah state". He called on HRW to focus more on abuses by Arab governments. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196937-Israel-Personally-Attacking-Human-Rights-Group-After-Gaza-War-Criticism Sun, 15 Nov 2009 06:53:14 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196931-Alleged-Jewish-terrorist-I-know-God-is-pleased The Jerusalem District Prosecutor's Office on Thursday charged alleged Jewish terrorist Yaakov (Jack) Teitel with two murders, three attempted murders and other acts of violence. "It was a pleasure and an honor to serve my God," said Teitel at the Jerusalem courthouse. "I have no regret and no doubt that God is pleased." Teitel also denied recent reports that he had operated as an undercover Shin Bet agent. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196931-Alleged-Jewish-terrorist-I-know-God-is-pleased Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:40:49 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196930-Palestinian-killed-on-Gaza-border Israeli troops have shot dead a Palestinian man, and wounded another, near a border crossing with Gaza. Gazan medics said they retrieved the body of a 16-year-old boy, who they described as an unarmed civilian, near the Karni crossing. The Israeli military said they would investigate the incident but the group "appeared to be planting explosives". Clashes have been relatively rare in Gaza since Israel's military offensive in December and January. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196930-Palestinian-killed-on-Gaza-border Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:52:08 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196901-Getting-Desperate-Israel-personally-attacking-human-rights-group-after-Gaza-war-criticism Human Rights Watch denies having political agenda or seeking funds from Saudi Arabia America's leading human rights organisation has accused Israel and its supporters of an "organised campaign" of false allegations and misinformation, including "extremely personal attacks" on its staff, in an attempt to discredit the group over its reports of war crimes in Gaza. Human Rights Watch (HRW) ties the campaign - which has included accusations that the group's reports on the Jewish state are written by "anti-Israel ideologues" and that it has sought funds from Saudi Arabia - to a statement by a senior official in the Israeli prime minister's office in June pledging to "dedicate time and manpower to combating" human rights organisations. The criticism began with Israeli pressure groups and rightwing blogs, but in recent weeks it has drawn the support of influential individuals such as Elie Wiesel, the Holocaust survivor and Nobel peace prize winner, and HRW's own founder, Robert Bernstein, who said the organisation's reports were "helping those who wish to turn Israel into a pariah state". He called on HRW to focus more on abuses by Arab governments. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196901-Getting-Desperate-Israel-personally-attacking-human-rights-group-after-Gaza-war-criticism Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:47:48 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196871-Palestinian-farmers-denied-access-to-water-in-disputed-West-Bank Claiming Palestinian farmers are stealing water from the central source shared by both Israelis and Palestinians, Israel has implemented water restrictions on Palestinians in the disputed West Bank. Access to fresh water supplies throughout the Middle East - and throughout Israel and Palestine in particular - is a cause of concern and conflict. "Water is a cardinal issue in the Middle East," MidEastWeb states on their web site. "Any year there is a drought, it makes headlines. Otherwise, it is always there, lurking in the background, behind the religious and nationalist slogans and rhetoric." However, in the disputed West Bank territory, a water-rights disagreement is threatening to create a broader conflict among Palestinians and Israelis. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196871-Palestinian-farmers-denied-access-to-water-in-disputed-West-Bank Sat, 14 Nov 2009 16:55:46 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196844-Another-flare-up-in-the-Middle-East-thanks-to-British-inspired-Wahhabism A leading Islamic clerical establishment in Iran has condemned the indiscriminate killing of Shia civilians by Yemeni government forces. "News of the unfortunate crackdown against Yemeni Muslims and Shias by the country's government forces... has left the Muslim world in great sorrow," the Society of the Seminary Teachers of Qom said in a Friday night statement. The Shia establishment also condemned human rights organizations for staying silent about the massacre and indirectly attacked the Saudi Arabian government for launching its own military offensive against northern Yemen. "The direct interference of certain Arab regimes in the ethnic cleansing of Shia and the silence adopted by the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and international human rights establishments about this atrocity leaves room for thought." http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196844-Another-flare-up-in-the-Middle-East-thanks-to-British-inspired-Wahhabism Sat, 14 Nov 2009 12:14:54 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196842-Saudi-soldiers-killed-in-Yemen-fighting Amid ongoing fighting in northern Yemen, at least two Saudi soldiers have been killed and five others have been wounded in border clashes with Houthi fighters. Saudi military sources say the fighting took place in the Jebel Dukhan region, a mountainous border area, which had been used by Yemeni forces to launch attacks on the Shia fighters. According to the Saudi paper Asharq Al-Awsat, the bodies of the two dead Saudi soldiers were moved to the town of Jizan on Friday. The fighting between Houthi fighters and Yemeni forces started in August, when the government launched attacks on areas inhabited by Shia civilians and the Houthis. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196842-Saudi-soldiers-killed-in-Yemen-fighting Sat, 14 Nov 2009 12:00:28 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196736-From-the-River-to-the-Sea Let's once and for all stop getting excited about America mounting pressure on Israel to freeze West Bank settlements. The entire fascination with the topic is a product of Zionist spin. It is there to divert attention from the root cause of the conflict: The robbery of Palestine and Palestinians in the name of a 'Jewish home coming'. The call to stop Israeli construction in the West Bank is there to leave us with the false impression that the robbery of Palestine started in 1967. The facts are known to many of us, but not to all. The vast majority of Palestinians were expelled from their towns, villages, fields and orchards in 1948. What seems as an American peace initiative putting pressure on Israel to halt its expansion into the West Bank is in fact an agenda that is promoted by Zionists within the US Administration who realise like the late Sharon, that the only chance for the Jewish state to survive the next decade, is to shrink into a little Jewish shtetle (ghetto). The Two state solution is indeed the last effort to keep Zionism alive. Netanyahu is far from being stupid. He understands it all. He knows that his Zionist Revisionist father's dream of 'greater Eretz Yisrael' is unattainable. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196736-From-the-River-to-the-Sea Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:58:29 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196721-Congressman-Baird-Those-Children-Deserve-To-Have-Someone-Ask-Why-They-Died Rep. Dennis Kucinich cancelled his keynote speech at a Democratic Party fund-raising dinner after several elected officials protested his stance on Israel. Kucinich (D-Ohio),who e-mailed the Palm Beach County, Fla., chairman on Nov. 6 to bow out of giving his talk next week, has a history of criticizing Israel .He has voted against multiple resolutions supporting the state and opposed sanctions against Iran's anti-Israel regime. Kucinich, a perpetual dark-horse Democratic presidential candidate, said in the e-mail that he did not want his speech or appearance to hamper Democratic fund-raising efforts, according to the Palm Beach Post. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196721-Congressman-Baird-Those-Children-Deserve-To-Have-Someone-Ask-Why-They-Died Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:08:15 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196720-Fragmenting-Palestinian-land-Israeli-Efforts-to-Sever-Ties-Between-West-Bank-and-Gaza A young student deported from the West Bank to Gaza is just the latest victim of Israeli efforts to sever ties between the territories Twenty-one-year-old Palestinian student Berlanty Azzam was seized by Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint in the West Bank last month. Bound and blindfolded, she was forcibly deported to the Gaza Strip. Berlanty was in her final semester at Bethlehem University in the West Bank, and was returning from a job interview in Ramallah. The problem was that she had an ID card registered in Gaza, and the Israeli occupation, in the words of the human rights organisation, B'tselem, "almost completely forbids the movement of Palestinians between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip". Bethlehem university has had "continuous problems" getting Gaza students the requisite permission from Israel, according to communications officer Stephanie Rhodes. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196720-Fragmenting-Palestinian-land-Israeli-Efforts-to-Sever-Ties-Between-West-Bank-and-Gaza Fri, 13 Nov 2009 02:39:40 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196718-Testimony-Israeli-Security-Agency-exploits-illness-of-Gazan-to-try-and-force-him-to-become-a-collaborator In the summer of 2007, Israel instated a new procedure regarding residents of the Gaza Strip wishing to exit Gaza in order to receive medical treatment. According to the procedure, authorization some of these requests are authorized only if the resident first undergoes a questioning by the Israeli Security Agency (ISA). In a response by the Prime Minister's Office to a letter from Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) on 22 May 2008, the purpose of the questioning was described as "evaluating the degree of danger posed by the applicant". However, testimonies given to human rights organizations in Israel indicate otherwise. The organizations have documented cases in which the ISA has exploited the questionings to exert inappropriate pressure on ill persons, with the aim of forcing them to collaborate with the Agency and give information to agents, as a prerequisite for receiving a permit to exit Gaza for medical treatment. As the questionings take place in Erez Checkpoint, the ISA has even used them, in some cases, as a means to arrest persons and take them to interrogation within Israel. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196718-Testimony-Israeli-Security-Agency-exploits-illness-of-Gazan-to-try-and-force-him-to-become-a-collaborator Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:21:53 -0500