Providing a summary of the events of the past week from the West Bank and Israel, Jesse Rosenfeld, freelance journalist based in Ramallah and Tel Aviv speaks to the Gaza attack. He connects the upcoming Israeli election to the motivation behind the bombing of Gaza which in the past week killed 420 and injured over 1300. Rosenfeld says Ehud Barak decided to carry out Operation Cast Lead, the name given to the attack, at this time to boost his votes for the February 10th election. During election years, politicians known to take the most hard-line position against Palestinians tend to gain more seats in the Israeli Knesset. Operation Cast Lead now threatens escalate into a ground invasion as Israel amasses its troops and tanks at the Gaza border.
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As the fifth day of Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip begins, Rafah and Gaza City, the two main targets, have witnessed hundreds of deaths. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas blames Hamas, the ruling party in Gaza, for inciting Israel’s attack. Hamas, vows to keep shelling Southern Israel with rockets fired from the Gaza Strip. Lia Tarachansky spoke to Fida Qishta in Rafah, located in Southern Gaza. Qishta reports one of the first targets of the Israeli bombardment were the tunnels dug by Palestinians under the wall, which separates Rafah in two, half in Palestine and half in Egypt. These tunnels, says Qishta, have been used since the beginning of the siege to smuggle food, and according to Israel, weapons. Qishta also reports of the wall being breached by Palestinians desperate to escape to Egypt. Though unsuccessful, this is the fifth attempt since the beginning of the second Intifadah to breach it.
This program was produced by The Real News for January 1, 2009.
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http://palsolidarity.org
The fighting between Hamas and Fatah has calmed down for the time being. Deadly clashes between the two rival political factions led Fatah fighters to flee to Israel for protection. One hundred and fifty Fatah fighters were relocated to the West Bank by Israel. In an editorial The Lebanese, The Daily Star stated that Hamas and Fatah are a bigger threat to Palestinians than Israel. Executive Director of The Electronic Intifada Ali Abunimah believes that outside forces have also contributed to the instability in the region.
This program was produced by The Real News for August 11, 2008.
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http://electronicintifad.net
Presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama, addressing the AIPAC conference in Washington DC, made sure to express his unconditional support of Israel and took great pains to clarify his position on Iran: tough negotiations as leverage.
This program was produced by The Real News for June 5, 2008.
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http://barackobama.com
The Gaza Strip narrowly averted the shutdown of its sole power plant after Israel sent a shipment of one million gallons of diesel to the plant on Wednesday. Israel is Gaza’s sole supplier of fuel, and shipments to the Palestinian territory have been sporadic since militants attacked an Israeli fuel depot earlier this month.
This program was produced by The Real News for Thursday, April 24, 2008.
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Following a dramatic escalation of violence in Gaza, in which reportedly over 120 Palestinians were killed, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited the region in what observers call an attempt to salvage Mideast peace talks. Mideast observers noted Rice’s refusal to use the word “ceasefire” in the ongoing crisis between Israel and Hamas, calling into question whether the deadlock would be solved by a negotiated ceasefire or by other means. The Real News spoke to Osamah Khalil in Cairo.
This program was produced by The Real News for March 9, 2008.
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The Canadian government placed the U.S. and Israel on a list of nations that engage in torture. The government later caved to U.S. pressure to remove both nations from this list. The Real News speaks with Alex Nave, the Secretary-General of Amnesty International Canada.
This program was produced by The Real News for January 22, 2008.
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http://amnesty.ca
http://www.stoptorture.org.il/eng/
Paul Jay speaks to Jonathan Schell on the candidates and Israel.
Based in New York City, USA, Jonathan Schell is a renowned anti-nuclear activist, prolific journalist, lecturer and best-selling author. He is a frequent contributor to The Nation, The New Yorker, Harper’s Magazine and Atlantic Monthly. He is also the author of The Fate of the Earth, nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Schell is a board member of IWT – The Real News.
This program was produced by The Real News for February 3, 2008.
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http://www.thenation.com/directory/bios/jonathan_schell
Osamah Khalil, a a Palestinian-American doctoral candidate in US and Middle East history at the University of California-Berkeley, visits the Gaza Strip via Egypt where he tours the destroyed border wall near Rafah. Part one of two.
This program was produced by The Real News for January 29, 2008.
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More conflict in Gaza. An estimated 350,000 Gazans crossed into Egypt after at least 15 explosions blasted apart two-thirds of the separation wall. Israel completely sealed off Gaza last week, citing increased rocket fire from Gaza into southern Israel. The Real News spoke to Saud Abu Ramadan, an independent Palestinian journalist in Gaza.
This program was produced by The Real News for January 24, 2008.
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