worst affected" by the blockade and electricity cuts

worst affected" by the blockade and electricity cuts.
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID= 33430

Ging appeals for allowing humanitarian assistance into Gaza
(22 Nov) GAZA, (PIC)--John Ging, the director of UNRWA operations in the Gaza Strip, has addressed an appeal to the world community to intervene and demand the passage of humanitarian assistance via Israeli-controlled crossings into the Gaza Strip. He addressed the appeal via Al-Jazeera TV network, and warned that UNRWA's stores, which provide 60% of the daily needs of the Gaza population, were out of stock completely. The international official said that more than a million and a half Palestinians in the Strip, half of them children, are threatened with a disaster unless aid is expedited.
http://www.palestin e-info.co. uk/En/

Skek warns of looming catastrophe in Gaza Strip due to lack of electricity
(21 Nov) GAZA, (PIC)--Head of the electricity distribution company in Gaza Strip Suhail Skek warned Thursday that the tiny Strip is threatened with a human catastrophe as a result of the sharp shortage of electricity supplies in the Strip. In a press conference he held in Gaza city over the matter, Skek asserted that the electricity crises was worsening every day, revealing that the Strip was currently receiving 40-50% of its need of electricity. He pointed out that lack of maintenance equipment, the suspension of the main electricity generation plant in Gaza due to lack of fuel, in addition to using electricity in cooking due to lack of gas have aggravated the problem and pushed it to alarming levels that could affect hospitals, sewerage system, and all aspects of life.
http://www.palestin e-info.co. uk/En/

UNRWA head: "Gaza Strip facing catastrophe"
(22 Nov) Commissioner- general of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), Karen AbuZayd, stated that the Gaza Strip is facing a humanitarian catastrophe as Israel continues the siege over the coastal region and prevents essential aid from reaching residents. AbuZayd added that the situation in the Gaza Strip this month is the worst since the early days of the Palestinian Intifada which started late September of 2000. She said that border crossing have been sealed for the longest period ever, and that the UNRWA have nothing left in their warehouses to deliver to the impoverished coastal region. The UNRWA currently provides aid for approximately 820,000 Palestinian refugees while the World Food Program, part of the UN, provides aid to 200.000 Palestinians.
http://www.imemc. org/article/ 57759

PLC member: Economic blockade will spark Gaza revolt
(22 Nov) If the Israeli economic blockade on the Gaza Strip continues much longer, Palestinians may "flood toward crossing points" into Egypt and Israel, warned Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC)-member Jamal Al-Khudari. "A flood toward the crossing points is imminent," Al-Khudari declared at a news conference in Gaza City on Saturday. "The economic situation has deteriorated to an unbearable degree," Al-Khudari insisted.
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID= 33427

Mud ovens and kerosene stoves replace electric and gas
(22 Nov) Under siege there is one industry in Gaza that has seen an upturn in business over the past 18 days of complete closure. Crowds are gathering at kerosene stove repair shops. The stoves and workshops were abandoned years ago, but are being pulled out as fuel imports to run the electrical plant or to cook remain banned.. Others are building mud ovens in order to cook food and bake bread. Umm Mohammed, a woman in her fifth decade, said that she had to search her home and among the stored and unfit furniture for the kerosene stove. She described an "overwhelming joy" filling her upon discovery among piles of forgotten items. Umm Mohammed, the head of a family of nine, said that she and her family have been eating uncooked vegetables and food from cans for three days. Exhausted, she said that she cannot imagine how long this period without gas or electricity may last....
http://www.imemc. org/article/ 57763

ISM Gaza: Erez protest against siege for return of Palestinian fishing boats and release of three ISM activists
(22 Nov) On Thursday 20th November the Beit Hanoun Local Initiative organised a protest at Erez crossing, in which tens of youth marched carrying Palestinian flags and banners demanding the release of the 3 ISM activists (Andrew Muncie, 34, from Scotland, Darlene Wallach, 57, from USA and Vittorio Arrigoni, 33, from Italy). Along with 15 Palestinian fishermen, and their 3 fishing vessels, the solidarity activists were kidnapped by Israeli soldiers on November 18, while fishing at about 7 miles off shore of central Gaza Strip city, Deir Al Balah.
http://www.palsolid arity.org/ main/2008/ 11/22/ism- gaza-strip- erez-protest- against-the- siege-for- th
e-return-of- the-palestinian- fishing-boats- and-for-the- release-of- the-3-ism- activists/

IOF troops raid the central Gaza Strip, the resistance shells Kisufim
(21 Nov) GAZA, (PIC)--IOF troops conducted an incursion Friday morning into the Wadi al-Salaqa to the east of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. Eyewitnesses confirmed to the PIC correspondent that a number of Israeli armoured vehicles invaded the eastern area of Deir al-Balah amidst random firing at Palestinian homes. Palestinian resistance confronted the invading forces which tried to raid a house.
http://www.palestin e-info.co. uk/En/default. aspx?xyz= U6Qq7k% 2bcO

End of Israeli siege overdue, says Palestinian academic
(22 Nov) A UK-based Palestinian academic Friday questioned why Israel had suddenly reinvaded Gaza in the first week of November to end five months of unprecedented peace produced by the hudna or truce agreed with Hamas. "Despite the continuation of the siege that denied the population of Gaza much of what other people around the world may consider life necessities, men, women and children could walk the streets of the Strip without fear," Azzam Tamimi said. "On the other side of the divide, Israel saw tourism flourish," said Tamimi, the director of the London-based Institute of Islamic Political Thought.
http://www2. irna.ir/en/ news/view/ menu-234/ 0811220713103140 .htm

Israeli leaders: No invasion of Gaza soon
(22 Nov) JERUSALEM, Nov. 22 (UPI)--Israeli leaders told King Abdullah of Jordan this week that Israel has no immediate plans to try to topple Hamas in Gaza, the Jerusalem Post reported. The newspaper cited sources in Jordan. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Foreign Minister Ehud Barak traveled to Amman Tuesday for a meeting with the king. Abdullah warned the Israelis, the sources said, that an invasion of Gaza would have serious repercussions around the region, including Jordan. Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who is leading the Kadima Party into the coming election, responded to Abdullah's warning. "Israel does indeed have strategic ties with its neighbors, Egypt and Jordan, and listens to their needs, but the bottom line remains that the country acts according to the interests of the Israeli citizen," she said.
http://www.upi. com/Top_News/ 2008/11/22/ Israeli_leaders_ No_ invasion_of_ Gaza_soon/ UPI-
12941227334883/

Haniyya: Gaza groups ready to restore truce with Israel
(22 Nov, AFP) OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: The Islamist government of the Gaza Strip said Palestinian resistance groups were willing to lay down their arms and go back to a five-month-old truce-if the Jewish state did likewise. The head of the Hamas administration in Gaza, Ismail Haniyya, said all Palestinian factions in Gaza were prepared to respect the truce if Israel kept to its side of the bargain. "Over the past two days, we've had meetings with the Palestinian factions and we have arrived at a clear position-to respect the truce as long as the occupier does too," he said.
http://www.dailysta r.com.lb/ article.asp? edition_id= 10& categ_id=2&article_id=97913

Palestinian scholars, university professors condemn siege, political arrests
(21 Nov) GAZA, (PIC)--Prominent Palestinian scholars and University professors have condemned Thursday the persistent Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip, and the unwarranted political arrests by the PA security forces in the West Bank. Dr. Younis Al-Astal of the Palestine scholars' league explained that Islam prohibits political arrests carried out at the hands of the PA security forces in the West Bank in coordination with the Israeli occupation security departments.
http://www.palestin e-info.co. uk/En/

Hamas accuses Palestinian Authority of supporting Gaza blockade
(22 Nov) Gaza-Hamas Saturday accused the Palestinian Authority (PA) of supporting the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip in a bid to weaken the Islamic movement which controls the territory. "The repeated calls by some of the PA officials that electricity and fuel supplies to Gaza should be cut reflect an intention to weaken Hamas movement," said Ayman Taha, a Hamas spokesman.
http://www.earthtim es.org/articles/ show/242823, hamas-accuses- palestinian- authority- of-supporting
-gaza-blockade. html

Moroccan aid caravan reaches Cairo en route to Gaza
(22 Nov) A humanitarian caravan carrying two tons of medicine and paramedical equipment from Morocco is headed to the Gaza Strip on Saturday, first reaching Cairo on Friday. The caravan will dispatch humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing point later on Saturday, if it is permitted to enter. Pan-Arab Congress Secretary-General Khalid Sefiani, who is leading the Moroccan delegation, said the initiative "reflects the unanimous support of the Moroccan people to the Palestinian people." "This caravan is a Moroccan cry against the silence surrounding the blockade imposed on the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip," Sefiani said in Cairo on Friday. In case the delegation is denied access to the Gaza Strip, aid will be handed out to Palestinians in Rafah, a town on the border between Egypt and Gaza, he added.
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=33424

European campaign collects medicine for besieged Gaza
(22 Nov) BRUSSELS, (PIC)--The European campaign to lift the siege on the Gaza Strip has launched a major campaign to collect badly needed medical supplies to the besieged Strip. Anwar Al-Gharby, a founding member of the campaign, said that the collection of medicine and medical equipment has already started early November in various areas of Switzerland, Italy and a number of other European countries.
http://www.palestin e-info.co. uk/En/

European MPs send protest messages to Egypt for barring their entry into Gaza
(22 Nov) BRUSSELS, (PIC)--Members of the European parliamentary delegation who were denied access through the Egyptian-controlled Rafah crossing into the Gaza Strip have sent protest messages to Egyptian embassies in Europe.The 53-member parliamentary delegation expressed indignation at this measure and sent another 11-member delegation into Gaza via the sea route and the members stayed for thee days in Gaza during which they got acquainted with the tragic conditions in the Strip as a result of siege. Irish, British, Italian, Swiss and other European MPs sent their protest messages to the Egyptian embassies in those countries. They also asked for the immediate opening of the Rafah crossing on a permanent basis.
http://www.palestin e-info.co. uk/En/

Israeli gunboats kidnap Gaza fisherman, peaceworkers
(21 Nov) By Eva Bartlett. On the evening of Tuesday 18 November Khalid al-Habeel sat surrounded by his wife, family, and other concerned fishermen. Until the early hours of the following day, they had no idea what charges were being laid against 15 fishermen, including two of al-Habeel's sons, Adham (21) and Mohammed (20), after they were nabbed from Gaza's territorial waters earlier that morning and taken to an Israeli interrogation center at Ashdod port. Nor did they know when or if their boats--their livelihoods- -would be returned.
http://electronicin tifada.net/ v2/article9985. shtml

Gaza activists 'on hunger strike'
(21 Nov )Three International Solidarity Movement activists detained with 15 Palestinian fishermen off Gaza by the Israeli navy say they have gone on hunger strike .Briton Andrew Muncie, Vittorio Arrigoni from Italy, and American Darlene Wallach are being held in a prison near Tel Aviv and face possible deportation. Mr Muncie, from Lochaber, told the BBC their protest would continue until the impounded fishing boats were returned. Israel said the boats had deviated from the zone where fishing was permitted. The ISM disputes the allegation, saying the Palestinian vessels were 12km (7 miles) from shore when confronted by the Israeli navy-well within the fishing limits outlined by the 1994 Oslo peace accords.
http://news. bbc.co.uk/ 2/hi/middle_ east/7742299. stm

Muslims, Christians stand against the Gaza siege
(21 Nov) AMMAN, (PIC)--The Muslim-Christian Committee and the General Islamic Conference for Jerusalem have called on the international community and human rights organizations to immediately move to end the crippling unjust siege on Gaza Strip. "You should play an active role in halting the [Israeli] aggression against an unarmed people to avoid a human catastrophe that could lead to massive exodus of thousands of Palestinians out of the country", asserted the two groups in a joint statement they issued in this regard.
http://www.palestin e-info.co. uk/En/

Gaza's hospitals struggle to save lives amid Israeli siege
(21 Nov) By Rami Almeghari. Over the past two weeks, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have faced a sharply deteriorating humanitarian situation as Israel further tightened its closure of the border crossings. Virtually no food, medicine or other vital supplies have been allowed in to the territory that is home to 1.5 million people. The impact of the siege is most directly observed in Gaza's health sector. Despite desperately needed medication, equipment, supplies, and spare parts, doctors continue to try to save lives and look after their patients at the European Gaza Hospital, one of territory's largest medical centers. Dr. Zaki Azzaq Zouq, an oncologist, explained, "There is a widespread shortage of essential medicines which we used to give to patients prior to the blockade. Currently, there are no tools for physicians to treat patients who suffer from lung, stomach, colon or brain cancers."
http://electronicin tifada.net/ v2/article9984. shtml

Ambassadors of humanity
(21 Nov) By Anat Meidan. Israeli doctors who treat Gaza patients give us hope for better future--For five months, doctors and nurses at Barzilai hospital in Ashkelon treated Vania Suleiman, a Jabaliya resident. Following a major stroke, she lost consciousness during her pregnancy. The attempts to stabilize her condition at a Gaza hospital failed and she was transferred to Barzilai. At the end of September, after doctors battled for her life and her fetus' life for weeks, she gave birth to her third son. Last Wednesday, Suleiman passed away and the medical team wiped away its tears. Two days later, a Qassam rocket landed in Ashkelon, shaking up the hospital and sowing fear and anxiety among those staying there... About 25 Gazans are hospitalized at the Ashkelon hospital.
http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 3626408,00. html

PPP leader detained by de facto security en route to Ramallah
(22 Nov) The Palestinian People's Party (PPP) on Saturday condemned the de facto government in the Gaza Strip for preventing Walid Al-Awad, a member of the PPP's politburo, from traveling to Ramallah in the central West Bank. The PPP said in a statement that guards stationed at a de facto government checkpoint stopped Al-Awad while he was heading to Ramallah through the Erez crossing, informing him that he "is not permitted to travel." Checkpoint guards also took Al-Awad's passport and ID card, telling him the documents would be returned on Sunday at the internal security department.
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=33418

PFLP-affiliated militants launch projectiles toward Ashkelon
(22 Nov) A militant group associated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) claimed responsibility for an attack on an Israeli city Saturday morning, according to a statement received by Ma'an. The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, a militant wing of the PFLP, claimed it fired two projectiles toward the Israeli city of Ashkelon, near Gaza, on Saturday.
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=33423

Gaza community center organizes seminar on violence against women
(22 Nov) Dozens of female Palestinians and others working at Beit Lahyah Women's Center weighed in on their roles in society during the Gaza event. The Al-Falah Educational Center, which is a project of the Al-Falah charitable organization in the Gaza Strip, honored the organization' s head, Sheikh Ramadan Tanbura, at the conference. Tanbura insisted that Islam "provides for women's rights and keeps their dignity protected," insisting that all institutes should work for better treatment and respect of women.
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=33428

Break the siege! Support Gaza's young artists
(22 Nov) Resistance art is asking all of you to do what ever possible to help the people of Gaza. Resistance Art will donate all the proceeds from the sales of our 2009 "Colors from Palestine" calendar will be donated to the the Young Artists Group in Gaza.I am happy to inform you that the calendar. To view and buy the 2009 "Colors from Palestine " calendar click on the link below.
http://www.resistan ceart.com/ 2009_Gift_ packages_ and_ discounts.htm

The Free Gaza Movement: Greta Berlin and Mary Hughes Thompson interview
(22 Nov) By Joe Fallisi. " Joe Fallisi : Dear Greta, dear Mary, you're two of the founders and deeply involved organizers of Free Gaza. In my opinion, it is one of the few new world realities in the fight for human rights. It truly was and is able to make something concrete, new, positive and useful change-as well as a radical change. A change that otherwise very probably wouldn't even happen. The initiative comes from civil society and has nothing to do with the old politics. How, where and when did it start, and what did you personally do and are continuing to do within this movement?Greta Berlin (*): The Free Gaza Movement was organized two years ago by five people on two continents. Paul, Mary and I were working from California, and Eliza and Bella were working in parallel in the UK. We found each other and thought sailing a boat to Gaza would be a great idea.
http://palestinianp undit.blogspot. com/2008/ 11/greta- berlin-and- mary-hughes- thompson. html

Hebron: 2 rightists detained on suspicion of attacking police
(22 Nov) By Efrat Weiss. A relatively quiet weekend in Hebron ended with the detainment of two right-wing activists Saturday on suspicion of assaulting police officers. Another youth was taken in for questioning. Saturday afternoon, forces spotted a group of youths attempting to enter Area A of the West Bank, near a Hebron-area outpost. The forces prevented the youths from continuing and held up one of them after he apparently refused to leave the site. Following the incident, dozens of boys and girls gathered at the site. according to police, one youth proceeded to assault a police officer. Another rightist activist was detained later. Following the arrests, dozens of youths gathered outside the police station to protest the detainment. Later the youths attacked a police team coming out of the station. Security forces have deployed in force in Hebron over the weekend, as thousands of Jews arrived at the city to read the weekly Torah portion. Authorities feared that some of the arrivals could stay in town to resist the planned evacuation.
http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 3626839,00. html

Israel: Settlers to be evicted from Hebron house
(22 Nov) HEBRON, West Bank – Israel will remove Jewish settlers who are holed up in a disputed house in this Palestinian city in violation of a Supreme Court eviction order, Israel's deputy defense minister said Saturday. The occupants have said they won't budge, and supporters have been flocking to a tense Hebron , where settlers have clashed with security forces and Palestinians in recent days. Thousands of Israelis visited the city Saturday in honor of biblical matriarch Sarah, and some were expected to stay on as reinforcements in the event of an eviction attempt. Israeli troops lined the streets to protect the visitors as they walked in downtown Hebron. Palestinian residents said several Israelis stoned a Palestinian home after worship. There were no reports of injuries, but Israel Radio said two settlers were arrested, one for scuffling with a policeman and the other for entering a prohibited area.
http://news. yahoo.com/ s/ap/20081122/ ap_on_re_ mi_ea/ml_ israel_settlers

Vilnai calls on settlers to end violence against troops, police in West Bank
(22 Nov) Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai on Saturday called on settlers to rein in the violence between members of their community and Israeli police and security forces in the West Bank. "A law is a law.. These instances will not be tolerated, not against IDF soldiers, the police, or Palestinian civilians," Vilnai said, during a meeting with Jezreel Valley residents.
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1039886. html

Livni on disputed Hebron house: Entire public defying court order
(21 Nov) While a tense calm is prevailing in Hebron, Kadima Chairwoman Tzipi Livni lashed out again at extreme right-wing activists who have said they would defy the High Court's ruling on the disputed housein the West Bank city and resist any attempt to evacuate it. "This situation is intolerable in my opinion. There is an entire public that is not respecting the court's ruling and the government's decisions; they are also harming IDF soldiers," Livni told Channel 2 Friday evening.
http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 3626698,00. html

Jewish pilgrimage stokes tensions in Hebron
(21 Nov) HEBRON, West Bank (AFP) – Israel beefed up security on Friday as 25,000 Jewish pilgrims were expected in the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron amid fears of violence as a group of settlers defied an eviction order. Dozens of police and troops took up positions outside the house where about 100 hardline settlers and their supporters have vowed to resist any attempt to enforce the High Court order. From the roof of the four-storey building, which houses a small army observation post, armoured vehicles could be seen patrolling the road leading from the Kiryat Arba settlement to the Tomb of the Patriarchs in the city centre, both about 500 metres (yards) away. "We have almost doubled our forces," an officer said in reference to the police and army deployment in Hebron , as pilgrims flocked into the volatile city to mark the biblical story of Abraham's purchase of the land that now houses the Tomb of the Patriarchs, holy to both Jews and Muslims.
http://news. yahoo.com/ s/afp/20081121/ wl_mideast_ afp/mideast

Legal affairs: The house that Rajabi built
(20 Nov) Nadav Ha'etzni, the lawyer who represented the settlers in the petition over the disputed building in Hebron, fought with a dogged determination- laced with impatience and subdued anger-to persuade the High Court of Justice to overturn the eviction order against his clients. Time and again, he ignored the court's pronouncement that it would not rule on the ownership dispute between the petitioners, Tal Construction and Development- Karnei Shomron and the Association for the Renewal of the Old Yishuv in Hebron, and Palestinian Faez Rajabi who, together with a partner, originally purchased the land and built the four-story structure. Ha'etzni presented one argument after another to persuade the court that his clients had purchased the building in 2004, even though Rajabi had told police the sale had not been completed, and the police had determined that some of the sale receipts submitted by the settlers were forged.
http://www.jpost. com/servlet/ Satellite? cid=122640479311 3&pagename=JPost% 2FJPArticle% 2FShowFull

Palestinian police hit for use of force
(22 Nov) By Joshua Mitnick. Hebron, West Bank | Human rights activists and Palestinian analysts say the deployment of Palestinian policemen in Hebron, intended to bolster prospects for statehood, could backfire by strengthening the militant Islamic group Hamas. Many Palestinians living in the biblical city say heavy-handed tactics by Palestinian police also could lead to renewed gunbattles between the rival factions. The police offensive has boosted the number of political prisoners in Palestinian jails to about 200, human rights groups say. "People are coming and telling me that 'we wanted an effective government, but not in this way.' They are coming to me and saying, 'Do something!' Everyone is angry," said Sheik Abdel Khader al-Jaberi, who heads Hebron's most powerful clan.
http://www.washingt ontimes.com/ news/2008/ nov/22/palestini an-police- hit-for-use- of-force/

Prof. Avi Shlaim: Settlements turned Israel into apartheid state
(21 Nov; video) British-Israeli Professor Avi Shlaim joined a handful of academics in London earlier this month to debate the future of Zionism, in a panel entitled "Israel at 60: What happened to the Zionist dream?" In his talk, entitled "Obsession with Territory Post-1967," Shlaim blasts the settlements, which he says have turned Israel into an apartheid state, as the primary source of failure for peace efforts with the Palestinians.
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1039411. html

Haaretz editorial: No more tolerance
(21 Nov) Both the assaults by Hebron's Jewish thugs on Israel Defense Forces soldiers, which included throwing turpentine at a soldier's face, and the graffiti proclaiming "Mohammed is a pig" follow directly from rabbis' words... This criminal aggression by settlers in Hebron and elsewhere has long been a tolerated routine. In contrast to the security forces' efforts in exposing terrorist cells or criminal gangs, here there is not even a need for good intelligence about the transgressors' intentions. Their actions take place out in the open, and both the perpetrators and their leaders are known.
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1039564. html

Israeli court sentences Tulkarem youth to 16-month prison term
(22 Nov) An Israeli military court on Friday sentenced Salih Sa'id Salih of the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem to a 16-month prison sentence and ordered him to pay a fine of NIS 1,000. He was convicted of the charge of affiliation with the Islamic Jihad movement, Salih's brother said on Saturday. The Palestinian man was originally detained by Israeli forces in December 2007. There are approximately 11,000 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails, most of whom are affiliated with Hamas, according to Canadian political prisoners' solidarity group Sumoud.
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID= 33417

Israel to free 250 Palestinian prisoners before Muslim holiday
(22 Nov) NABLUS, West Bank – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says Israel will free 250 prisoners as a goodwill gesture before an upcoming Muslim holiday. Abbas said at a conference in the northern West Bank town of Nablus on Saturday that Israel will release the prisoners before Eid al-Adha , an important Muslim holiday expected to take place on Dec. 8. The thousands of prisoners in Israeli jails is an extremely sensitive issue for Palestinians.
http://news. yahoo.com/ s/ap/20081122/ ap_on_re_ mi_ea/ml_ palestinians_ prisoners_ 1

Campaign to garner release of two Bethlehem children from administrative detention
(22 Nov) Among the 11,000 Palestinians in Israeli prisons, over 300 are children. To highlight the case, a youth group of Palestinian and Jewish activists are focusing on two minors being held under Administrative Detention, meaning no charge or trial with renewable sentences. Bethlehem residents Salwa Salah and Sara Syuri are both 17 years old. Israeli forces took them from their homes on 5 June 2008. Since then the two youth have been held in the Damon Prison in Al Carmel Mountains, which has been deemed "unfit for humans."...The Israeli group monitoring Palestinian human rights, Btselem reports that during the month of October the Israeli authorities imprisoned 599 Palestinians under Administrative Detention, including 11 children.
http://www.imemc. org/article/ 57762

Palestinian forces hold teens for throwing stones at Israeli soldiers
(22 Nov) RAMALLAH, Nov. 22 (Xinhua)--A Palestinian lawmaker on Saturday said Palestinian security forces still hold four teenagers for throwing stones at Israeli soldiers in West Bank. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) "follows the arrest of a group of boys since the security forces detained them in Bethlehem at the end of last month," said Khaled Jarar, a PFLP member of the parliament. The group was made of seven boys, according to Jarar, and the Israelis arrested three of them after they were released by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). The PNA is still holding four of the boys, and "their detention is politically motivated," she said.
http://news. xinhuanet. com/english/ 2008-11/22/ content_ 10396865.htm

Palestinian lawmaker, Irish Nobel Peace Prize winner wounded in Bil'in protest
(22 Nov) Troops violently attacked the peaceful protest, and a number of residents were treated for gas inhalation. Among them were Palestinian legislator Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, Irish Nobel Prize laureate Maread McGuire, and Palestinian cameraman Mahmoud Harbiyyat who works for the Watan TV. All received treatment by field medics.
http://www.imemc. org/article/ 57758

Palestinians organize a protest at an evacuated settlement near Nablus
(22 Nov) Residents of the villages near the evacuated settlement of Homesh in the Nablus area organized a nonviolent demonstration to protest the return of six settler families to the evacuated land. Ten protesters were wounded when the Israeli soldiers fired rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas canisters at the protesters. This is the second demonstration organized by the popular committee against the colonial settlement activity in this area. Israeli soldiers prevented the protesters from entering the evacuated settlement. This settlement was evacuated in 2005 as part of the unilateral disengagement plan during which Israel pulled out from four small settlements in the West Bank, however, all of them remained until this moment under military order, which prevents Palestinians from entering the evacuated areas.
http://www.imemc. org/article/ 57760

Dozens wounded in nonviolent actions in Bil'in
(21 Nov) Dozens of Palestinian and international demonstrators choked on teargas in their weekly nonviolent anti-wall demonstration in the village of Bil'in near Ramallah on Friday afternoon.Local sources reported that the protest had been peaceful as Palestinian, Israeli and international peace activists waved Palestinian flags, banners and posters, when the army attacked them.The source added that Israeli soldiers "showered the protesters with rubber-coated metal bullets, injuring dozens" during the protest". Most reported injuries were due to teargas inhalation. Protesters carried signs marking the World Children's Day, demonstrations reflected on Israel's "aggression and occupation" that harms Palestinian children
http://www.imemc. org/article/ 57757

Two injured in nonviolent demonstration in Bethlehem
(22 Nov) A woman and a child were wounded during an anti-wall nonviolent protest in the village of Al-Ma'asara near Bethlehem on Friday. The Palestinian villagers were accompanied by a number of International and Israeli peace activists who marched after the Friday prayer to protest the construction of the wall on the village's land. Marking the International Children's Day, protesters also carried signs condemning Israeli measures against Palestinian children. As the march arrived near the construction site of the wall, troops, geared up with batons and machine guns attempted to stop them by placing barbed wire on the road. Troops tackled the protesters and in the process wounded 52-year-old Suad Joma'a and 10-year-old Iyad Hasan bruised by the attacks and were treated on site by Palestinian medics.
http://www.imemc. org/article/ 57756

Soldiers detain PLC members at anti-Wall demonstration near Qalqilia
(21 Nov) Israeli soldiers reportedly shut down a peaceful demonstration in the village of Jayous, north of the West Bank city of Qalqilia on Friday, according to local witnesses. Soldiers detained Waleed A'saf and Tayseer Khalid, both members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), two witnesses told Ma'an. A number of peace activists and residents of the village were also shortly detained.
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID= 33415

Israeli police yet again demolish E. Jerusalem protest tent
(21 Nov) Israeli police on Friday removed a tent for the third time this week in East Jerusalem, where it was erected in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood to protest the demolishing of a house owned by a Palestinian family.
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID= 33409

Telling the truth about Occupied Jerusalem
(22 Nov) By Marc J. Sirois, Daily Star staff. From time to time over the past year or so, The Daily Star has received inquiries and complaints over the fact that when we publish an article from Jerusalem, we dateline it "OCCUPIED JERUSALEM.". .. The UN's rejection of Israel's claim to East Jerusalem has been made plain by countless resolutions in both the Security Council and the General Assembly, and one of these, UNSC 478, expressly ruled that the Israeli government's claim to the entire city as its "unified" capital in 1980 was "null and void and must be rescinded forthwith." West Jerusalem is a very different story. It has been under Israeli control since its incorporation into the newly created state of Israel in1948, many casual observers regard its status as unquestioned, and the issue is studiously ignored by foreign governments and the media alike. In fact, the only difference that matters is that while East Jerusalem has been occupied since 1967, the western part of the city has been occupied since 1948.
http://www.dailysta r.com.lb/ article.asp? edition_id= 1& categ_id=2&article_id=97901

Debate over Museum of Tolerance-an exchange
(22 Nov) Letter to Rabbi Hier from Bradley Burston. It saddens me to find myself in opposition to the Simon Wiesenthal Center, whose goals and good works I have long supported. But seriously, on the most basic, human level, can you say in all honesty that you cannot understand why many Israeli citizens, moderate, tolerant Jews, Muslims and Christians alike, are vexed by the concept of a Museum of Tolerance built on a graveyard?
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1039816. html

Peace Now buys ads backing Saudi initiative in Palestinian newspaper
(22 Nov) Peace Now, the Israeli leftist movement, published advertisements in a widely circulated Palestinian newspaper on Friday declaring its support for the Saudi peace plan. The group paid for the ads to appear in Al-Quds , the popular Palestinian daily which is published in East Jerusalem, reciprocating a similar gesture made by the Palestinian Authority [in three Israeli newspapers]
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1039866. html

Comment on PLO full-page advert in the Israeli daily press on 20/11/2008
(21 Nov) By Akiva Orr. The publication of this policy statement by the PLO as a full-page advert in the Israeli daily press is an unprecedented political act of major importance, since--like all ads in the daily press--it constitutes a direct appeal not just to the government, but to every Israeli citizen. From now on it is no longer Israel's government which has to respond to this all-Arab peace move, but every Israeli citizen. Most Israeli citizen want peace but many refuse to pay the price for that peace. They justify their refusal by arguing: "There is no partner for peace on the Palestinian side" or "The Arabs don't want Peace. They only want to exterminate us." This will sound hollow when it comes from anyone who rejected the Arab League peace offer.
http://mrzine. monthlyreview. org/orr211108. html

Israeli roadblocks holding back private sector: Abba
(22 Nov) NABLUS, West Bank (AFP) – Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said on Saturday that private sector growth was the key to boosting the West Bank economy but that it was being held back by the Israeli roadblocks that pockmark the occupied territory. He said the biggest obstacle to growth was the network of some 600 roadblocks the Israeli army operates around the West Bank, which seriously hamper the free movement of people and goods. "There can be no real sustained development under occupation despite all our best efforts," Abbas said. "We must make clear to the whole world that the occupation, the settlements and the roadblocks are obstacles that must go."
http://news. yahoo.com/ s/afp/20081122/ wl_mideast_ afp/mideastecono mypalestinianinv es tment

Making history, on the pitch
(21 Nov) By Omar Karmi... But the team from no recognised country had played and scored in front of a home crowd, under the spotlight of the international media and in their own national stadium for the first time.
http://www.thenatio nal.ae/article/ 20081121/ SPORT/566907163/ 1043/rss

De facto government arrests Prisoners' Ministry theft suspects
(21 Nov) The de facto Ministry of the Interior in the Gaza Strip, in partnership with the Palestinian Authority (PA)'s Prisoners' Ministry in Ramallah, announced the arrests of a number suspects in their ongoing theft investigation on Friday. The de facto ministry affirmed in statements that "the suspects were transferred to interrogation centers to be interrogated on the crime of stealing around US $300,000 from a prisoners' allowance fund. The investigation aims "to establish the facts" and determine how one person could "withdraw this amount of money through 15 transfers within four months."
http://www.maannews ..net/en/ index.php? opr=ShowDetails&ID=33412

UN chief hosts Palestinian journalists at NY office
(22 Nov) United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon hosted ten Palestinian journalists at his New York City office on Friday, congratulating them for completing a UN-sponsored training course at the international body. Moon insisted that the Palestinian- Israeli conflict is one of his top priorities "and should be solved." He told the journalists that he had "already urged US President-elect Barack Obama to make the Question of Palestine one of his top priorities," as well. All participants were journalists from the West Bank, aside from Zein Abu Qasim, a female reporter in the Gaza Strip.
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=33421

Palestinian police seize 11 fugitives en route to Jordan
(22 Nov) Palestinian Authority (PA) police arrested 11 fugitives on Saturday at the the Allenby Bridge crossing into Jordan, according to the crossing's Palestinian police chief. Director Muneer Talbani told Ma'an on Saturday that 4,996 citizens crossed the bridge this past week, including 76 foreigners and 20 Israeli ID holders. Meanwhile, 8,866 Palestinians exited over the bridge, in addition to 63 foreign-passport holders and 581 Israeli ID-card holders. He added that 11 patients left the terminal in ambulances. Furthermore, Israeli authorities denied entry of 59 people, all for supposed security reasons. [End]
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=33429

USA to give green light to the Arab plan?"Israel will torpedo it"
(21 Nov) By Michele Giorgio, Il Manifesto . JERUSALEM-The US is denying claims made by the "Sunday Times". Two days ago [16 Nov] the British weekly reported that President-elect Barack Obama, during the talks which took place last July with the Palestinian leader Abu Mazen, had openly expressed himself in favour of the Saudi Arabia-sponsored peace plan that was approved by the Arab League in 2002 in the Beirut summit and ratified again last year in Riyadh.
http://palestinethi nktank.com/ 2008/11/21/ usa-to-give- green-light- to-the-arab- plan-%E2% 80%
9Cisrael-will- torpedo-it% E2% 80%9D/

Abbas calls on Obama to implement Arab peace plan
(22 Nov) NABLUS, West Bank (AP) – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday urged Barack Obama to get involved in Mideast peacemaking efforts immediately after becoming the U.S. president in January.. Abbas, who spoke at an economic conference in the West Bank town of Nablus , also asked Obama to endorse a pan-Arab peace initiative that offers full peace with Israel in return for its withdrawal from the West Bank , Gaza and parts of Jerusalem.
http://news. yahoo.com/ s/ap/20081122/ ap_on_re_ mi_ea/ml_ palestinians_ obama

Arabs should act now, not wait for Obama
(21 Nov) By James Zogby. Because expectations across the Middle East are so high and the need for change is so great, during the next two months, all eyes will be focused on the early decisions made by President-elect Barack Obama. But precisely because the need is so great, I believe that the region's leadership should be more than spectators during this critical transition period. This is especially true with regard to efforts to achieve an Israeli-Palestinian peace.
http://www.huffingt onpost.com/ james-zogby/ arabs-should- act-now-- --n_b_145624. html

Bearing out the betrayal
(20-26 Nov issue) With Israel's breach of the ceasefire in Gaza, Saleh Al-Naami laments yet another example of Israeli-PA collusion which victimises Hamas
http://weekly. ahram.org. eg/2008/923/ re1.htm

The Ramallah banana republic
(21 Nov) By Jamal Dajani. This Thursday, these full-page advertisements were published in Hebrew in four Israeli newspapers.. The text of the advertisement read: "Fifty-seven Arab and Islamic countries will establish diplomatic ties and normal relations with Israel in return for a full peace agreement and an end to the occupation." Madison Avenue seems to have moved into Ramallah. Not a bad move from a president who is "supposed" to term out on January 9, 2009. But mark my words... he won't.However, the problem is that Mahmoud Abbas seems to have forgotten about the other Palestinian government-- the one in Gaza... or maybe not. At the same time the PA President Mahmoud Abbas was addressing Israelis through the media, he ordered access to a popular news website based in Gaza blocked.
http://www.huffingt onpost.com/ jamal-dajani/ the-ramallah- banana-repub_ b_145474. html

The price of Jewish blood
(20-26 Nov issue) Israel's planned operation to rescue Shalit could spark a new Intifada, writes Khaled Amayreh -- There is a growing impression among observers in Palestine-Israel that Israel may be preparing a "rescue operation" to free Gilad Shalit, the Israeli occupation army soldier who was taken prisoner in Gaza by Palestinian fighters more than two years ago. Israeli intelligence services claim they know the whereabouts of Shalit, specifically the Gaza street where he is being held.
http://weekly. ahram.org. eg/2008/923/ re3.htm

Heil, Feiglin!
(20-26 Nov issue) Khaled Amayreh in occupied East Jerusalem shudders at the drift to fascism in Israeli politics--With Israeli Jewish society drifting towards right-wing extremism, especially with regard to the Palestinian issue, Israeli political parties contesting the upcoming elections, slated to take place on 10 February, are radicalising the tone of their public discourse in the hope of wooing as many potential voters as possible to their respective agendas.
http://weekly. ahram.org. eg/2008/923/ re2.htm

Come January
(20-26 Nov issue) Hamas is determined that if Mahmoud Abbas is to remain president beyond 9 January 2009, it is only through "a package agreement", writes Dina Ezzat
http://weekly. ahram.org. eg/2008/923/ re4.htm

Israel shuts down East Jerusalem theatre over PA backing
(21 Nov) Israeli police ordered the closure of a local theater in East Jerusalem on Friday under the pretext that it was sponsored by the Palestinian Authority (PA). Israeli officials also accused the owners of the Al-Hakawati Theater of having failed to obtain written permission to operate it, as is required under Israeli law. Schoolchildren were expected to participate in an extracurricular activity sponsored by a local Palestinian organization, "Juthur," or "Roots," along with participants from a number of other organizations in East Jerusalem. The theater's activities have been disrupted at least eight times during 2008.
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID= 33414

Israel in new bid to strip ex-MK Bishara of citizenship
(22 Nov, AFP) OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israeli Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit launched proceedings on Friday to revoke the citizenship of Palestinian- Israeli former MP Azmi Bishara, who fled Israel last year amid claims he had spied for Lebanon's Hizbullah movement, a ministry spokesman said. The move came less than three months after the Israeli High Court rejected a previous bid to strip Bishara of both his nationality and his parliamentary pension and drew an angry reaction from the ex-MP's political party.
http://www.dailysta r.com.lb/ article.asp? edition_id= 10& categ_id=2&article_id=97898

Your land is my land
(22 Nov) Danish Christians who have for years hosted Israeli, Arab and European youth at risk and young people from institutions, and taken them for survival and bonding hikes in the Arava suddenly unwelcome in Israel--... What galls Benjamin Larsen particularly is the manner in which he and his wife were treated.. "That was one of the most traumatic days in my life. Apparently human rights are trampled in that place every day. The interrogator was very aggressive and said that she didn't care what we did, we simply had to leave the country. They sat us down in the waiting room and told us that there was nothing to argue about." The detention, he says, was an ongoing torture, without food or drink, without explanations. "We were taken to a small and dirty cell," says [his wife] Lee. "I collapsed from pressure and fear and began to cry. One of the officers said to us: "Here you'll do what I tell you or I'll make you suffer-a lot." We were transferred to another filthy cell; on the table there were leftover sandwiches. The garbage can was full, the shower was filthy. The mattresses were cracked plastic, without sheets and pillows.
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1039328. html

"Shimon Peres, you're a war criminal!" say Oxford students
(21 Nov) By Abigail Humphries. Text messages came from student protesters who had managed to get inside the lecture hall. They let the their fellow demonstrators outside know that their chanting could be heard inside over the voice of Israeli President Shimon Peres. There was clapping and stamping of feet and placards banged on the railings to make as much noise as possible, along with the constant "Free, free Palestine" which did not stop for a moment of the hour-long lecture. Silent women in black, shouting students, small babies in prams, university lecturers and a local elected official were just some of the crowd gathered to voice their protest against an Oxford college's decision to honor Peres on Tuesday, 18 November as he gave the inaugural lecture in a series to be named after him.
http://electronicin tifada.net/ v2/article9983. shtml

No more back-slapping over Palestine
(22 Nov) By John Freedman Bertoud. Israel and the Jewish community of Britain are entwined – but a London talk by Shimon Peres was all too complacent
http://www.guardian .co.uk/commentis free/2008/ nov/22/israel- palestine- shimon-peres

UK Guardian : Palestinian notables denounce UK-Leviev embassy deal
(22 Nov) Letters section: It is with great dismay that we learned of the British government's plans to rent space for its new Tel Aviv embassy location from Lev Leviev's company Africa-Israel. Africa-Israel builds Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Additionally, Leviev's company Leader is building the settlement of Zufim. Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. We welcome the recent decision by the British government to take action against Israeli settlements by cracking down on settlement exports. However, renting space for the embassy from a settlement-builder would send a contradictory message, signalling clear and active complicity with illegal settlement construction. .
http://www.palsolid arity.org/ main/2008/ 11/22/uk- guardian- palestinian- notables- denounce- uk-leviev
-embassy-deal/

Advisers: Obama must address Israeli-Palestinian conflict at once
(21 Nov) By Yitzhak Benhorin. Former national security advisers, to Ford, Carter and Bush say resolving Palestinian issue would liberate Arab governments to support US leadership in dealing with regional problems ''as they did before the Iraq invasion'. Add: Solution would dissipate much Hizbullah and Hamas' appeal
http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 3626686,00. html

Analysis: Is Obama's Mideast peace platform coming into focus?
(22 Nov) By Amir Oren. Eight weeks before Barack Obama is sworn into office, signs have emerged over the weekend that point to what is turning out to be the new administration' s plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This is the conclusion that one reaches when considering the upcoming appointment of Hillary Clinton to the position of secretary of state; the reports that Obama could name retired general James Jones to the position of national security adviser; and the president-elect' s reliance on the advice of Brent Scowcroft, who served as national security adviser in the administrations of Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush.
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1039874. html

Rahm Emanuel's Israeli-gate
(22 Nov) Paul J. Balles considers the racist, anti-Arab comments made by the father of Rahm Israel Emanuel – President-elect Barack Obama's chief of staff – and asks why these comments are acceptable to the American public whereas if they had been referring to Jews, African Americans or Hispanics they would have caused uproar.
http://www.redress. cc/americas/ pjballes20081122

Lessons that should be learned
(20-26 Nov issue) Obama's team should have done more to address and dismiss wild stories about Rahm Emanuel, writes James Zogby... Emanuel is Jewish and his father is an Israeli. Arab Americans should be especially sensitive to attacks on anyone based on religion or ethnicity. He has worked closely with and is liked by Arab American members of Congress from both parties, and he was the architect of the 1993 White House lawn signing ceremony for the Oslo Accords that brought Arab Americans and American Jews together.
http://weekly. ahram.org. eg/2008/923/ op23.htm

The surprising effect of anti-Muslim rhetoric in the [US] election
(21 Nov) By Shahed Amanullah. If there was any doubt as to the depth and extent of anti-Muslim feelings among portions of the US electorate, this year's presidential elections have most certainly put it to rest. The extent to which candidates and voters alike propagated anti-Muslim themes in order to support a political agenda has been unprecedented. But despite the extent and volume of anti-Muslim rhetoric, candidates who embraced these methods this year universally failed to get elected.
http://www.huffingt onpost.com/ shahed-amanullah /the-surprise- effect-of- an_b_145618. html

Jews, Muslims partner to fight Islamophobia, anti-Semitism
(21 Nov) Throughout weekend, 50 mosques and 50 synagogues representing over 100,000 Muslims and Jews throughout US, Canada will join together to confront Islamophobia and anti-Semitism. The Weekend of Twinningsm is spearheaded by The Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, in cooperation with the Islamic Society of North America, the Muslim Public Affairs Council and the World Jewish Congress.
http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 3626107,00. html

Iran executes citizen convicted of spying for Israel
(22 Nov) Ali Ashtari, an Iranian citizen convicted in June of spying on his country for Israel, was executed. He had confessed to meeting with three Mossad agents who he said gave him money, electronic equipment to distribute in Islamic Republic
http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 3626762,00. html

Report: Hezbollah training near northern Israeli border
(22 Nov) Hezbollah fighters have conducted a number of military maneuvers in southern Lebanon this weekend, according to a report by Al-Arabiya TV on Saturday. The troop movements, which were being carried out south of the Litani River on Saturday, are seemingly in violation of United Nations (UN) Resolution 1701, which holds that the region be demilitarized. Israel's Air Force has also been accused of violating the resolution on several occasions since the 2006 June War
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID= 33434

Invisible casualties of war
(20-26 Nov issue) Women may not be regularly fixtures of the front line but inevitably they form the bulk of the victims of any conflict, writes Ramzy Baroud. Qurban-Bibi and Nahil Abu Rada are two women, one Afghan, the other Palestinian, whose tragic plight has made news. Their losses also help delineate the plight of millions of other women in war zones and poor countries.
http://weekly. ahram.org. eg/2008/923/ op13.htm

Book review: Palestine, Palestinians and International Law by Francis A. Boyle
(22 Nov) The Near and the Middle Eastern regions have the greatest potential to affect world peace. The cause of this danger is seen in this book in the policies of the United States and Israel which are acting as occupying powers. Both are oppressing indigenous peoples in Iraq and Palestine. Almost all analysts and commentators agree that a solution to both conflicts lies in the withdrawal of foreign troops from occupied territories and in case of Palestine in the establishment of a viable state for the Palestinian people alongside Israel.
http://between- the-lines- ludwig-watzal. blogspot. com/2008/ 11/palestine- palestinians- and.html

Friday: 3 GIs, 3 Iraqis killed; 20 Iraqis wounded
Excerpt: Although the prayer day tends to be relatively peaceful, a massive demonstration took place in Baghdad at the behest of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Across Iraq, three people were killed and another 20 were wounded, mostly in Baghdad. Three U.S. service members died in three separate incidents as well. Also, the U.S. military reported that a group of Iraqi soldiers donated money to victims of recent U.S. wildfires... Estimated Iraqi deaths to date due to US invasion: 1,288,426
http://www.antiwar. com/updates/ ?articleid= 13799

Iraq: Thousands march to protest Status of Forces Agreement
(21 Nov; photos) Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr's call to followers to hold a mass prayer and protest in central Baghdad to denounce the new Status of Forces Agreement reached between U.S. and Iraqi negotiators brought tens of thousands of people swarming into central Baghdad's Firdos Square on Friday. This is none other than the place where U.S. forces helped Iraqis joyously pull down a giant statue of Saddam Hussein back in April 2003. This time, the crowd gathered at the square was just as frenzied, but there were no American forces in sight. And this time, the protesters dragged down something very different: an effigy of President Bush.
http://latimesblogs .latimes. com/babylonbeyond/ 2008/11/iraq- thousands. html

Mahdi Army warns of new insurgency in Iraq if US troops stay until 2011
(22 Nov) At one point the effigy of the outgoing US President, dressed in a black suit and carrying a suitcase labelled "security agreement", was hoisted up a parapet where the Saddam statue once stood in Firdous Square.
http://www.timesonl ine.co.uk/ tol/news/ world/iraq/ article5206331. ece#cid=OTC- RSS&attr=797093

Iraq's prime minister, president in public quarrel
(22 Nov) BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's presidential council has taken the unusual step of publicly criticizing the Shiite prime minister after he berated them for their opposition to councils of loyal tribesmen in several Iraqi provinces.
http://www.google. com/hostednews/ ap/article/ ALeqM5hjnbKGxPvO fNbKGFnjB5YbNi F4kgD94JRSA80

Iraq's presidency demands suspension of pro-Maliki groups
(21 Nov) BAGHDAD (AFP) — Iraq's presidential council demanded on Friday that Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki suspend pro-government tribal councils so their legality could be reviewed amid an escalating quarrel over them.
http://www.google. com/hostednews/ afp/article/ ALeqM5jMEgRkmdB9 N_fAub4TrBVgc- g9Ag

'War criminal Bush' blamed for worldwide crises
(22 Nov. AFP) PROTESTERS have demanded that US President George W Bush get out of Peru where he is attending an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, blaming him for the world economic crisis.
http://rawstory. com/news/ 2008/Protesters_ War_criminal_ Bush_ to_blame_1122. html