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Israel transfers 'shooting' officer
The Israeli army has removed an officer from his post over allegations he ordered a soldier to fire a rubber-coated bullet into the foot of a bound and blindfolded Palestinian.
A military spokeswoman said a decision on legal proceedings against Lieutenant-Colonel Omri Borberg is expected soon.
Borberg, a regimental commander, was suspended last month pending a military investigation.
He could still face prosecution, but B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights group, said on Wednesday that a deal in which he could face the minor charge of inappropriate behaviour was "disgraceful".
The incident took place four weeks ago in the West Bank village of Ni'lin during protests against the construction of Israel's separation wall in and around the occupied Palestinian territory.
The shooting was filmed by a Palestinian girl and released by B'Tselem.
Borberg said he told the soldier only to shake his rifle to frighten the Palestinian, according to initial army findings.
On Wednesday, Israel released five Palestinian teenagers from jail - ending the last stage of its prisoner swap with Hezbollah.
Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, said 150 more prisoners will be freed later this month, in an attempt to revive peace talks with the Palestinians. The Israeli army has removed an officer from his post over allegations he ordered a soldier to fire a rubber-coated bullet into the fo... more -
First new West Bank settlement in ten years?
Phyllis Bennis: At this point a two-state solution is near impossible.
"From what I saw in this trip to the West Bank, I would say that if it's not already impossible, it is so close as to be virtually the same. The division of Palestinian land within the West Bank, has divided the West Bank, as have the series of roads that connect settlements but bypass Palestinian villages, towns, refugee camps. The checkpoints—imagine 567 checkpoints, according to the United Nations, in this tiny territory the size of the US state of Delaware. It's insane."
Phyllis Bennis is a Senior Analyst at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington DC. She is the author of Before and After: US Foreign Policy and the September 11 Crisis and Challenging Empire: How People, Governments, and the UN Defy US Power. Phyllis Bennis: At this point a two-state solution is near impossible. ... more -
Israeli military kills U.N. worker
The UN is demanding an investigation into how the Israeli military killed one of its Palestinian school teachers by blasting open the front door of her Gaza home with explosives in the presence of three of her children.
Wafer Shaker al Daghma, 34, a teacher at a local UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) elementary school, was killed last Wednesday as she stood preparing to open the wooden door of her home to the troops. According to UNRWA and relatives who found her body, the military used an explosive device on the door which blew most of her head from her body. They then confined the traumatised children – aged from two to 13 – for five hours while the body lay outside the door of the room where they were held.
The nation calling itself "Israel" is not the Israel of the bible. The should be held accountable for all their terrorist acts. The UN is demanding an investigation into how the Israeli military killed one of its Palestinian school teachers by blasting open the ... more -
Bomb Iran? What's to Stop Us?
Emerging from a 90-minute White House meeting with President George W. Bush on June 4, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the two leaders were of one mind:
"We reached agreement on the need to take care of the Iranian threat. I left with a lot less question marks [than] I had entered with regarding the means, the timetable restrictions, and American resoluteness to deal with the problem. George Bush understands the severity of the Iranian threat and the need to vanquish it, and intends to act on that matter before the end of his term in the White House." Emerging from a 90-minute White House meeting with President George W. Bush on June 4, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the two... more -
Israel 'will attack Iran' before new US president sworn in, John Bolton ...
John Bolton, the former American ambassador to the United Nations, has predicted that Israel could attack Iran after the November presidential election but before George W Bush's successor is sworn in.
Bolton: 'the argument for military action is sooner rather than later'
The Arab world would be "pleased" by Israeli strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, he said in an interview with The Daily Telegraph.
"It [the reaction] will be positive privately. I think there'll be public denunciations but no action," he said.
Mr Bolton, an unflinching hawk who proposes military action to stop Iran developing nuclear weapons, bemoaned what he sees as a lack of will by the Bush administration to itself contemplate military strikes. John Bolton, the former American ambassador to the United Nations, has predicted that Israel could attack Iran after the November pres... more -
Russia warns against using force on Iran
Russia's foriegn minister Sergey Lavrov has warned about using force against Iran over the nuclear issue (which Iran says is peaceful).
He added:
"We have been repeatedly asking our American and Israeli colleagues, who insist that Iran is certainly involved in making an atomic bomb, to provide factual information about this matter. So far we have seen none.”
This comes as The New York Times reported that the Israeli military had done a rehearsal for a potential attack on Iran.
All this happening as a plan is gaining support again to build a international nuclear facility in Iran which would fulfill Iran's right to enriching uranium yet prevent the nuclear substance from being diverted for military use -(the plan was rejected by Bush admin 3 years ago even though the idea was advanced by Massachusetts Institute of Technology scientists).
For more See:
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail.aspx?id=59516§ioni... Russia's foriegn minister Sergey Lavrov has warned about using force against Iran over the nuclear issue (which Iran says is peac... more -
Muslims raise cash for Palestinians
The Muslim community has raised £15,000 through two dinner-fundraisers & collecting money at Bolton's Mosques for humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza via Islamic Relief.
At one of the dinners MP Dr Brian Iddon, gave a presentation about his experiences in Gaza which he visited earlier this year:
He said: "Conditions in Gaza are bleak, with little or no fuel for public services, including garbage collection and ambulances. People have to walk to work, often arriving late, including doctors, nurses and teachers.
"Food distribution is down to the basics and, recently, the UN were unable to distribute food at all. Around 80% of Gazans now rely on charities and the UN to distribute their basic food supplies."
He added: "If electricity fails at al-Shifa hospital for 30 mins, 80 people die and, if it fails for a week, 250 people die."
He added:
This collective punishment on the imprisoned people of Gaza is illegal under international law." The Muslim community has raised £15,000 through two dinner-fundraisers & collecting money at Bolton's Mosques for humanitaria... more -
Israeli jailed for Facebook photo
"The defence ministry told the BBC military tribunals have investigated and disciplined about 100 soldiers who broke the rules and unwittingly helped the enemy this year."
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Excerpts from (link, above) the BBC:
Israel has sentenced a soldier to 19 days in jail for uploading a photograph taken on his military base to the social networking website, Facebook.
The Israel Air Force has recently instructed all servicemen under their command who are serving in sensitive units to remove any photos they may have uploaded to Facebook, the Haaretz newspaper reports.
The BBC's Martin Asser says militants in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories are believed to monitor Israeli web forums and communities, including Facebook and the photo sharing site Flickr, to get information.
The defence ministry told the BBC military tribunals have investigated and disciplined about 100 soldiers who broke the rules and unwittingly helped the enemy this year.
Our correspondent says the worst offenders were punished with a month in jail, while others were warned they would face similar punishment if they re-offended. "The defence ministry told the BBC military tribunals have investigated and disciplined about 100 soldiers who broke the rules an... more
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