US – Breaking News

A boat from Yemen with a crew from around the Arab world will set sail in the wake of the Free Gaza ships and work to widen the cracks in Israel’s siege on Gaza.

Palestinian lawmaker Jamal Al-Khudari, who is also head of the Popular Campaign Against the Siege, announced on Sunday the voyage of a second ship, inspired by the success of the Free Gaza experiment.

Al-Khudari spoke with the Secretary General of the National Committee to Support Issues of Arab and Islamic Nations, Sa’id Abdel Mo’men An’am, earlier in the day. An’am said the crew will launch with the permission of the Yemini government and representatives from the popular committee against siege.

"Yemeni people all support the besieged Palestinian people in Gaza," An’am said, "and we seek to help break the blockade."

Al-Khudari applauded this step, saying the committee is ready and prepared to coordinate for the boat to cross easily and arrive to the beach of the Gaza Strip. He called this step an important move in continuing the momentum created by the first ship of activists. He applauded the Yeminis for heeding the calls of the popular committee to consider the holy month of Ramadan the "month to break the blockade," and encouraged other Arab nations to "put words into action" and follow the Yemini’s initiative.

(MAAN NEWS AGENCY)
 

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 British MPs granted Gaza access
 
BBC 

A cross-party delegation of British MPs has been allowed into Gaza to assess the effects of the recent Israeli military offensive.
 
Members of the Britain-Palestine All Party Parliamentary Group were granted entry by the Israeli military.
 
They hope to spend the afternoon being taken around sites damaged during Israeli military action. 
 

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By Iqbal Jassat – Chairman, Media Review Network

(source: Voice of the Cape Online)

It’s certainly turning out to be a farce. And one wonders whether a highly experienced jurist such as Judge Richard Goldstone underestimated the potential of his Washington Post op-ed turning into an embarrassing saga, not only for himself, but also for his beloved Israel?

Since the publication of his controversial op-ed wherein he expressed misgivings about the central finding of the UN Human Rights Council probe on the Gaza massacre of 2008-9 named after him as “The Goldstone Report”, media has been awash with new – and not so new – accounts of Operation Cast Lead.

And as the saga unfolds there is a rush to claim credit for Goldstone’s apparent about turn. From South Africa groups that operate as pro-Israeli fronts have staked their claim too. Avrom Krengel of the SA Zionist Federation is quoted as saying that the “Jewish lobby” in South Africa be credited for Goldstone’s reversal.

On the other hand, Israeli leaders such as the extreme right winger Lieberman who heads the apartheid regime’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs claims that it was due to pressure exerted by him and his colleagues especially from Military Intelligence that got Goldstone to crack.

In the midst of these claimants seeking accolades for subjecting the internationally renowned war crimes prosecutor to having “suffered greatly, especially in the city he comes from” and that “made him…regret his remarks” as Krengel is quoted, Goldstone is now caught in a new spat with Israel.

Read More »The goldstone saga

Mashaal: Why is Obama setting preconditions only for Hamas?

Jun. 11, 2009
JPost.com Staff , THE JERUSALEM POST

While most of the Arab world responded with enthusiasm to the overtures in Cairo of US President Barack Obama last week, Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal on Thursday complained that the president was presenting Hamas with preconditions ahead of entering into dialogue while he was not insisting on these preconditions regarding both Syria and Iran.

"Obama adopted a new language for speaking with Hamas," Mashaal told Asharq Al-Awsat, but added "we hope this will translate into actions on the ground, and that he will cancel the preconditions for talking to Hamas. He is opening a new page with the region and is beginning dialogue with the Iranians and the Syrians without preconditions, then why is he setting up preconditions for Hamas?"

On Tuesday night, Mashaal said "Hamas will be a positive force in helping to find a fair solution to the Palestinian people and enabling them to fulfill their rights."

"Hamas will not be an obstacle. Everyone knows that Israel is the obstacle," he said.

In his Cairo address, Obama called on Hamas to end violence, abide by previous agreements signed between Israel and the Palestinians and recognize Israel’s legitimacy.

Read More »Mashaal why is Obama setting preconditions only for hamas?