by Alternative Tourism Group, 29 July 2010 Dear Mr Giguere, and OECD officials,   We are amazed and appalled at your announcement that the OECD Tourism Committee will hold its annual Conference in Jerusalem in October 2010. It appears that the OECD and the deliberative processes within it seem to have belittled the sensitivity and seriousness of the conflict between Palestine … [read more]

by Stephen Lendman, July 24, 2010, www.uruknet.de The new plan updates older ones, going back to the first, what Israeli historian Ilan Pappe documented in his 2006 book, The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, on David Ben-Gurion’s Plan D (Dalet in Hebrew), his final master plan following Plans A, B and C, what Palestinians call the Nakba, the catastrophe, commemorated annually to never … [read more]

By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa Al-Omrani, www.uruknet.info?p=68310 CAIRO, Jul 26, 2010 (IPS) - Almost two months since Egypt announced it would reopen its Rafah border terminal with the Gaza Strip, operation of the crossing remains sorely limited.     "Rafah has only been opened to passengers and some medical supplies," Hatem el-Buluk, journalist and resident of Al-Arish, … [read more]

Max Blumenthal, July 25, 2010, www.uruknet.info?p=68281 A report quietly submitted by IDF Military Advocate General Avichai Mandelblit to the United Nations two weeks ago regarding Israel’s conduct during Operation Cast Lead confirms the key findings of the Goldstone Report. The report (full version here), which documents 150 ongoing investigations, has outraged the Israeli Army. "It looks … [read more]

Haaretz 28 June 2010; The Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee is set to approve a master plan that calls for the expansion of Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem. By Akiva Eldar and Nir Hasson The Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee is set to approve an unprecedented master plan that calls for the expansion of Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem, a move … [read more]

Jonathan Cook, The Electronic Intifada, 28 June 2010 As Israel this week declared the “easing” of the four-year blockade of Gaza, an official explained the new guiding principle:  “Civilian goods for civilian people.” The severe and apparently arbitrary restrictions on foodstuffs entering the enclave – coriander bad, cinnamon good – will finally end, we are told.  … [read more]

By David Cronin BRUSSELS, Jun 18, 2010 (IPS) - A leading Israeli supplier of warplanes used to kill and maim civilians in Gaza is in the running for two new scientific research grants from the European Union.     Israel's attacks on Gaza in late 2008 and 2009 provided its air force with an opportunity to experiment with state-of-the-art pilotless drones such as the Heron. … [read more]

'Sometimes the Israeli government does not make it easy for its friends to explain why it behaves the way it does,' says aid minister Dirk Niebel. By Haaretz Service German Development Aid Minister Dirk Niebel was denied entry into the Gaza Strip during his current visit to Israel, German officials said Saturday evening.     A ministry spokesman said talks had continued to the … [read more]

PAJU (Palestinian and Jewish Unity) # 487, June 11, 2010 The eighth Annual International Al-Awda Convention was held recently in Anaheim, California, and was attended by a packed audience of Palestinians and their growing numbers of supporters. The term "Al-Awda" means "return" in Arabic and refers to the right of Palestinians to return to the homes from which they were ethnically cleansed in … [read more]

Abnaa elBalad Movement June 7, 2010 Dear Participants and Supporters of the 2nd Haifa conference for the Return of the Palestinian Refugees and the Democratic Secular State in Historic Palestine,   We thank the many hundreds of dedicated activist for the rights of the Palestinian people and for justice and freedom that made the long way from different parts of Palestine and from all … [read more]

Brussels/Washington/Jerusalem, 31 May 2010: The International Crisis Group condemns Israel’s assault on a flotilla of humanitarian aid bound for Gaza, which resulted in a tragic loss of life. by INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP - NEW MEDIA RELEASE At the same time, the incident is an indictment of a much broader policy toward Gaza for which Israel does not bear sole … [read more]

by Iara Lee, Saturday, June 5, 2010 This article appeared on page A - 13 of the San Francisco Chronicle In the predawn hours of May 31, I was aboard the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, part of a convoy of humanitarian vessels aiming to deliver aid to besieged civilians in Gaza, when we were attacked in international waters by a unit of Israeli commandos.     Our ship had been … [read more]