On Monday, Israeli commandos boarded ships in the “Freedom Flotilla” attempting to bring humanitarian aid to residents of still-blockaded Gaza. The aggressive response by Israel turned deadly, with at least nine activists killed. The international community has reacted with shock and outrage; protests have erupted around the world outside Israeli embassies, with protesters even teargassed in Paris. Benjamin Netanyahu has canceled a long awaited meeting surrounding peace talks with President Obama and headed back to Israel to do damage control, and Turkey, from where the flotilla departed, has recalled its ambassador and issued a travel warning to its citizens.
Huwaida Arraf was on one of the ships; she joins us via phone from Ramallah, along with Norman Finkelstein, to tell us what happened to her and offer some analysis on the situation.
(Via GRITtv)
At least 19 peace activists killed as Israeli commandos attack the Freedom Flotilla en route to Gaza to break the siege, this and more, coming up, stay tuned.
(Via IMEMC)
As proximity talks started this week Israeli leaders continued to authorize more settlements in the West Bank putting a doubt over those talks, whilst Palestinians marked the 62nd anniversary of the Nakba this weekend. These stories and more in this week’s update.
This program was produced by the International Middle East Media Center for May 14, 2010.
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Despite escalating provocations by the Israeli hard-right settlement movement, indirect talks begin this week between the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships. On Friday, U.S. envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, will begin shuttling between the two parties in an attempt to build confidence and create the environment for direct talks. Palestinian public opinion is very divided over the start of the negotiations and prominent officials from both sides have suggested it may be too late to create two states, instead opting for one democratic state where all members are equal.
This program was produced by The Real News for May 7, 2010.
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Phyllis Bennis from the Institute for Policy Studies interviewed by Joy leClaire. Bennis comments on recent events in Palestine and the suggestions of a new non-violent “intifada”. She also discusses other news across the Middle East and the release of her new book, Ending the US War in Afghanistan: A Primer.
This program was produced by ForthRight Radio for March 17, 2010.
For more information, visit:
http://ips-dc.org/staff/phyllis
In this week’s report, Israeli attacks escalate in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, while US efforts to re-start Israeli-Palestinian peace talks are ineffective. These stories and more in this week’s update.
This program was produced by the International Middle East Media Center for March 26, 2010.
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This week, the European Union’s Parliament passed a resolution endorsing the implementation of the recommendations of the Goldstone Report, which investigated war crimes in the attack on Gaza last year. While the motion was received with support from many NGOs, such as the Women’s Peace Coalition, it did not indicate specific actions the EU will actually take. The same has been true for the UN’s process as members of the Security Council said they would veto the report. Many are therefore taking it in their own hands to hold Israeli leaders accountable for alleged war crimes. The legal tool they’re using is called universal jurisdiction and refers to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 that said countries must be able to prosecute anyone who commits grave crimes. The Real News’ Lia Tarachansky investigates what universal jurisdiction is, how it is used, and how Israel is fighting against it.
This program was produced by The Real News for March 12, 2010.
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Nora Barrows-Friedman reports from occupied Palestine on the accelerated building of illegal Jewish settlements far beyond what was announced by the Israelis today.
This program was produced by Flashpoints Radio for March 10, 2010.
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http://www.flashpoints.net
Mind Over Matters interviews Jeff Halper, Coordinator of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) and author of “Obstacles to Peace: A Re-framing of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict” and “An Israeli In Palestine: Resisting Dispossession, Redeeming Israel”.
Halper describes the beginnings of ICAHD and what the organization is doing today. ICAHD not only offers humanitarian help for affected Palestinians, but also emphasizes the importance of political resistance in Israel/Palestine and abroad.
This program was produced by Mind Over Matters on February 21, 2010.
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http://icahd.org/eng/
Tensions soared last week when Syria’s President accused Israel of avoiding peace, foreign minister threatened that Israeli cities would be attacked in event of war.
This program was produced by Voice Of America News for February 7, 2010.
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http://voanews.com