Palestine – Breaking News

(source: Jerusalem Post)

Netanyahu expresses regret over comments made in ‘Foreign Policy’ report; Yisrael Beitenu, Natan Sharansky heavily criticize claims.

Russian immigrants in Israel could be one of the main obstacles to achieving peace with the Palestinians, Bill Clinton told reporters in New York on Tuesday, according to Foreign Policy magazine.

The former US president reportedly said that children of immigrants who serve in the IDF have difficulties imagining any division of land that may in the future be part of a peace agreement. Clinton highlighted that the large numbers of Russian immigrants and settlers serving in the IDF could make it difficult for the army to confront settlers if this was required and feared this could cause problems in the future, according to the report. The people who are most opposed to dividing the land are the settlers and the Russians, the former president noted, and an increasing number of people serving in the army are children of these groups.

Read More »Bill clinton claims russian immigrants obstacle to peace

GAZA, (PIC)– United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes on Wednesday slammed the continued Israeli closure of the Gaza border-crossings and  described the situation as “desperate” and “unacceptable.”

No fuel, humanitarian supplies or commercial commodities were allowed into Gaza on Wednesday, according to the Office of the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO).

Mr. Holmes – who is also Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs – told journalists in Geneva that the closure was seen as collective punishment. Half the population of Gaza was under 15 and were being held hostage by the situation.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon telephoned Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Tuesday to urge him to facilitate the freer movement of urgently needed humanitarian supplies and of UN personnel into Gaza. Mr. Olmert denounced the continuing rocket fire into Israel from Gaza, although he agreed to look seriously into the urgent matter.

Starting Thursday, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) had to suspend cash assistance to some 98,000 of the poorest people in Gaza due to the lack of Israeli shekel bank notes in Gaza banks.

The agency also warned that it is facing “a grave and imminent crisis” and must receive additional pledges in the first quarter of 2009 if it is to continue assisting the 4.6 million people in its five field operations.

UNRWA Commissioner General Karen AbuZayd told donors, host governments and non-governmental organization (NGO) partners that according to present projections its core services will suffer a deficit of more than $87 million by then, leading to an overall shortfall of $160 million when combined with unfunded projects on hold from previous years.

“This will bring UNRWA closer to financial crisis than it has ever been,” she said today at the agency’s annual meeting in Amman, Jordan, which heard updates from the directors for the five field operations – Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza.
 

Read More »Gaza situation desperate and unacceptable

Doctors to reopen Yasser Arafat death investigation Arab doctors to review information about ‘strange death’ of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat

Rachel Shabi in Tel Aviv

guardian.co.uk, Thursday 2 April 2009 14.17 BST

Arab doctors are to investigate the death of the former Palestinian president, Yasser Arafat, re-opening a four-year-old case which is still the subject of suspicion, conspiracy theories and political accusations.

Doctors from Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinian territories have been given the task of reviewing information about the former president’s demise.

Read More »Doctors to reopen yasser arafat death investigation arab doctors to review information about strang

Picture: (AFP/File/Fethi Belaid)

An Algerian policeman stands guard as security forces block the road to Lakhdaria. Oil and gas-rich Algeria, face an increase in attacks by Islamic fighters.

Algerian media reported today that at least 10 people have been killed in two attacks in recent days as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan came to a close.

Six members of the security forces were killed in one attack when armed attackers opened fire on their vehicle in Theniet el-Had in the west of the country.

The report said the attackers were members of the so called terrorist group al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

The same organization, which was previously known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) and which is believed to have links to the so called international al-Qaeda network, claimed responsibility for an attack on September 28.

According to the official account, four have been killed and nine injured.
The organization has threatened to carry out more attacks against the military and foreign interests.

Sapa-dpa

Read More »Ten dead in attacks as ramadan ends in Algeria