Search Result in All

A highly controversial bill has been passed by a narrow margin in the Israeli Knesset which will lead to the second largest ethnic cleansing of Arab Bedouins since 1948. The bill, which was recommended in 2011, is called the Prawer Plan Law. It includes the expropriation of 80000 hectares of Arab land in the Negev Desert and grants the Israeli Authorities strict enforcement mechanisms, such as implementing forced evictions and home demolitions without judicial outcomes. Any complaints will be left to the authority of the Israeli Prime-minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who gave full support to the bill as part of his policy to expand Israeli settlements in the area.

At least four Palestinians have been killed in the latest Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip. Casualties occurred when Israeli forces launched an attack on the blockaded Palestinian territory late on Thursday. Reports say five Israeli soldiers have also been injured in the ensuing clashes in Khan Younis south of Gaza.

An israeli military drone has crashed in the north of the besieged Gaza Strip. A security source from Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas, says the movement has captured an Israeli drone that was flying over east Jabalia. He did not give further details. Hamas\' military wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades on its Twitter account has claimed responsibility for shooting down \"an Israeli mini-drone.\" Tel Aviv has denied this. The Israeli army says a \"skylark\" tactical mini-drone crashed in the Gaza Strip due to a malfunction. Israel occasionally carries out drone attacks on the besieged Gaza Strip that have at times claimed lives.

Following his meeting with the U-S secretary of state, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a deal with Iran would be QUOTE a very bad deal. Without mentioning any names, the Israeli prime minister said some regional countries have the same view as Israel about the Geneva nuclear talks. In response to Netanyahu, a White House spokesman said it is premature to criticize a deal since no agreement with Iran has been made yet. U-S President Barack Obama telephoned Netanyahu to discuss the Geneva talks on Iran\'s nuclear program. The White House says the president gave the Israeli prime minister an update on the nuclear negotiations.

Israeli soldiers have killed yet another Palestinian in the south of the besieged Gaza Strip. The Israeli army says soldiers opened fire at the Palestinian man, after he entered a forbidden security zone in the east of Khan Yunis. According to Palestinian Health Ministry sources, he was hit by Israeli tank fire. The military often targets Palestinians in the area. Tel Aviv has imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip since 2007, which has caused a decline in the standard of living, unprecedented levels of unemployment, and unrelenting poverty.

Israeli forces open fire on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank town of Jenin during a raid. At least one Palestinian has been killed and several others injured by Israeli soldiers who were trying to arrest a Palestinian. The Israeli military claims its forces came under attack by residents before they opened fire. Some reports say some of those injured are in serious condition.

Lebanon\\\'s Army commander has warned that the military will respond to any Israeli aggression. The warning was made as General Jean Qahwaji\\\'s visited the headquarters of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. Qahwaji says the Lebanese military is committed to the implementation of all United Nations Security Council resolutions, in particular 17-01. The resolution, which ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, demanded the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from south Lebanon. Earlier this month, Lebanon\\\'s south was the scene of deadly clashes between Israeli and Lebanese forces. The ensuing tensions prompted the Security Council to call for calm and restraint by both sides.

Three Palestinians have been injured in fresh Israeli air raids on the besieged Gaza Strip. Israel claims the latest attacks, which targeted Gaza City, are in response to a rocket attack from Gaza. Israel has recently intensified its military operations on the enclave. Earlier this week, Israeli warplanes bombarded the territory, killing at least two Palestinians and wounding several others. Another Palestinian was wounded by Israeli troops in southern Gaza last week.

An Israeli court has extended the house arrest of the mentally-ill Palestinian teenager Ahmad Dawuod Obeid.The 19-year-old was beaten and arrested by Israeli forces back in August in Issawiya, near Jerusalem al-Quds. Ahmad appeared in court several times on charges of throwing stones at Israeli forces. He faced a heavy fine and was later released on condition that he remains under house arrest.

An Israeli NGO has accused Tel Aviv of having tortured detained Palestinian children in freezing conditions. The Public Committee Against Torture says the Palestinian minors have routinely been held in outdoor cages for hours after their arrest. The organization says the children had to endure freezing temperatures outside transit facilities. It says this is a long-running practice meant to terrify the detained children. The NGO adds that it\\\'s just one example of the torture and ill-treatment of Palestinian children by Israeli forces. The Palestinian Prisoners Society has also said in a new report that 2-hundred Palestinian children are among five thousand inmates locked up in Israeli jails.

Israel approves plans to build more than two thousand new settler units in Jerusalem al-Quds and the occupied West Bank. As Israeli soldiers hand out more eviction orders to Palestinian families, we\'re asking is Tel Aviv under enough international pressure to stop its settlement activities that the UN has called illegal? Are the US-brokered talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority doomed? I\'m Homa Lezgee and you\'re watching the Debate. Guests: - Political Activist & Commentator, Kevin Ovenden (London). - Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute, Richard Weitz (Washington). Subjects: 1- Some observers say Israel\'s settlement expansions at this point in time are in fact meant to undermine talks since Israel is not interested in a two-state solution...do you agree? 2- Is a two-state solution possible? 3- Israel\'s economy minister Naftali Benner has said a two-state solution will harm Tel Aviv and that the establishment of an independent Palestinian state will destroy Israel\'s economy...what does that say about Israel\'s willingness for talks to get anywhere? 4- There was some friction between Tel Aviv and Washington when an Israeli minister said John Kerry\'s proposal on the Jordan Valley wasn\'t worth the paper it was written on and suggested that Kerry was naïve. How have the settlement expansions effected US-Israeli relations? 5- Is the US going to put enough pressure on Israel to stop the settlement expansions? 6- \"Israel teaching the US a lesson since the Obama administration is being a bit too serious\"... 7- What do you think about the EU position against settlements? Will a growing boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign help? 8- Should Israel be taking the academic and economic sanctions more seriously? 9- Similarities between Israel and South African apartheid regime... 10- How long is this stalemate going to last? How long can Israel continue to defy international law?

Norway\'s huge sovereign wealth fund has blacklisted two Israeli firms involved in the construction of settlements in East Jerusalem al-Quds. The sanctioned companies are Africa Israel Investments, which is an Israeli real-estate developer, and its construction subsidiary, Danya Cebus. The world\'s biggest wealth fund has slammed their construction activities as a contribution to serious violation of individual rights in the occupied territories. The move is the renewal of a three-year ban on investment in these firms. It was repealed by the Government Pension Fund of Norway in August last year. Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. Recently, the European Union asked Tel Aviv not to announce new settlement constructions. It said such an act would be an acute threat to the progress of the so-called peace talks between the Palestinian Authority and Israelis.

The Israeli military has launched three airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, targeting the northern, southern, and eastern parts of the besieged Palestinian territory. Palestinian officials say three explosions were heard in the territory. Rescue teams and ambulances have rushed to the areas. At least 8 Palestinians have been injured in southern Gaza town of Rafah. Two Palestinians have also been injured in the north. Tel Aviv claims the air strikes were carried out in response to a rocket fired from Gaza. The Israeli military often targets Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which remains cut off from the outside world by a crippling Israeli blockade.

The Israeli army has forcibly removed a group of Palestinian farmers from their land in the occupied West Bank.The farmers from the Tuquoa village were trying to plant 400 olive trees on their land with the help of a Christian youth group when the Israeli soldiers stopped them at gunpoint and asked for proof of ownership. After holding them for over an hour, and despite the farmers proving ownership of their land, the Israeli forces ordered them to leave the area and never come back unless they had a specific reason or an official order. The farmers said that the lands in question were 90 dunams or 22 acres and were owned by four families living in al-Asakira village.

Tel Aviv sends troops into a U-N-designated area separating Lebanon and Israel to collect an Israeli drone after it crashed in the area. Locals and the Lebanese army witnessed the incident but there were no clashes. The cause of the crash is still unknown. Israeli aircraft regularly violate Lebanon\'s airspace. A buffer zone called the Blue Line was drawn between Israel and Lebanon in 2000 after Israeli troops withdrew from southern Lebanese territories. Beirut has repeatedly filed complaints with the U-N over the Israeli violations of Lebanese airspace. But the world body has failed to take any measures to end such violations.

Israeli security forces stormed al Aqsa mosque compound on Tuesday in order to disperse protesters and Muslims praying in the compound. The attacks came ahead of a Knesset debate on a bill that would determine the future status Islam\'s third holiest site. The debate was initiated in the Israeli Knesset by right-wing extremist members who suggested that the al Aqsa mosque compound be partitioned into two -- one for Jewish and the other for Muslim worshippers. They further suggested that the Israeli authorities take full sovereignty of the mosque by relinquishing control from the Jordanian authorities, who have been the protectors of the Mosque for 20 years.

Saudi Writer Hamza Hassan Lashes Out at the Saudi Regime

A Hamas senior official has lashed out at Saudi Arabia for not granting visas to Gazans who want to go on the Hajj pilgrimage. In remarks posted on Hummaas's website, Atef Edwan said Riyadh had allowed thousands of people registered with the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank to have visas but not the 2,200 in Gaza who applied through Hummaas, AFP reported. "By ignoring those Gaza pilgrims registered with the Waqf (department of religious affairs) Saudi Arabia is making a political mistake that will have negative consequences on the Saudi regime and the whole region," AFP quoted Edwan as saying. Meanwhile media outlets quoted unnamed witnesses as saying that Hummaas police set up checkpoints across Gaza on Saturday, to prevent those who coordinated their pilgrimage with the movement's rival, the Palestinian Authority from traveling. Since last month tensions between Hummaas and the Palestinian Authority has heightened as the Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas increased the detention of Hummaas' members.

A detailed update on the Yemeni War, including massive Saudi attrocities on Civilians, as well as victories of the Houthi Resistance Movement Against Saudi and Yemeni (with US Support naturally) attacks on Yemen. Human rights groups including the International Red Cross have said that there is a Humanitarian Crisis unfolding rapidly in Yemen, as the Saudi's are primarily hitting civlians. Recorded February 06, 2010 at 2100GMT

Protests planned in Saudi Arabia - Tehran Protests against Saudi - 21Apr2011 - English

The topic of this edition of News Analysis is Saudi interference in the Middle East. Editor of Pan-African Newswire, Abayamoi Azikiwe criticizes the U.S. foreign policy for supporting the repressive, undemocratic Saudi regime while at the same time putting the Iran, which has elections and political participation under all kinds of pressure. Director of IGA, Ali al-Ahmad says the main fear of the Saudis is of a democratic state in their neighborhood and he states that it is because of this fear that the Saudis are meddling in the affairs of other regional countries. Professor of Law at Georgetown University Daoud Khairallah says Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf countries are against the Arab Spring because they are against democracy and self-rule.

[03 July 2012] Saudi Arabia invested in Syria crisis - English UN human rights chief Navi Pillay says the flow of arms into Syria is "fueling the violence" in the Arab country, calling for an end to the militarization of the ongoing conflict. Pillay did not specify where the arms are coming from, but UN diplomats believe that Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been supplying weapons to the armed Syrian rebels. The UN official claimed that the situation in Syria is "a non-international internal armed conflict," the legal term for a civil war, saying "there is a risk of escalation." While the West and the Syrian opposition say the government is responsible for the killings, Damascus blames "outlaws, saboteurs and armed terrorist groups" for the unrest, insisting that it is being orchestrated from abroad. Press TV has conducted an interview with Hisham Jaber, director, Middle East Studies Center, to further discuss the issue.

[18 July 2012] Has the wave of revolutions finally reached Saudi Arabia shores - News Analysis - English

A demonstration against the oppressive regime of Al Saud to STOP BLOODSHED IN SAUDI and Immediate release of Sheikh Nimr Al-Nimr who was attacked, injured and arrested on July 8. Shia & Sunni both came out on the street of Toronto on Saturday JULY 21st to show their support to the oppressed in Saudi. Protest was organized in-front of US Consulate (360 University Avenue, Toronto ON M5G 1S4).

[17 Aug 2012] What is life like for Saudi women - English

[28 Nov 2012] Saudi king death will affect Mideast - English

Netanyahu admits common regional interests between Saudi Arabia & Israel: \\\\\\\"Our relationship with Saudi Arabia is good... Yes, we do have common interests with Saudi Arabia in the economy, regional politics, and other areas\\\\\\\"

[1 Sept 2013] Saudi Arabia backs US military intervention in Syria - English