News, good bad and ugly

Bethlehem - Ma'an - Founder of the political party the Palestinian National Initiative Mustafa Barghouthi was nominated for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize by Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate and co-founder of Peace People in Northern Ireland.


Do you all think that Israel is going to take this news sitting down or will they send out the Hasbara Discreditation Unit to create something "fishy" about Barghouti? Should we place bets?

And since my last post was about exile, have a read here, the story on how Israel can use "years spent in America" as a reason to deport native born Palestinians who come home. The irony! Its killing me!


Here is an interesting article about how Israel claims that they "cannot control" activists (Friends of Shalit) out protesting "across the country" on behalf of Gilad Shalit. I suppose not being able to control these activists has to do with hands being tied in East Jerusalem and all along the Apartheid Wall where brutal attempts at "control" are in full swing.
Here is one of the tactics being used by the mass movement to free Shalit (from the article).

Activists for Shalit's release went to Karni and Kerem Shalom, two Israel-Gaza border crossings, to try (unsuccessfully) to block the entry of fuel containers into Gaza. The family was not involved in this initiative.

In the meantime the Shalit family makes a wordy statement to Hamas about holding Palestinians hostage in Gaza. You see, its all their fault, nothing to do with Israel at all. What would of been appropriate for the Shalit family to comment on while they were at it is (since they voiced concerned for Gazans in their statement) would have been to chastise the "Friends etc" about the humanitarian grief they would of caused should their efforts to stop transport of fuel were successful.

Do you want peace or do you want to continue to never lose an opportunity to spew Zionist bull?

THE MURDERING MOTHERLAND

The most “humane” army in the world, murders it’ own people. I wrote about this subject other day, where Israel murdered a mentally ill Israeli man at the Erez crossing point. I said they were using him as target practice and questioned why more humane tactics were not used to stop him from climbing the wall, plastic bullets, stun guns, talking him down, etc. But those methods would deem Israel as a humanitarian state, which it is not. No humanity for anyone, even their own people. For now it has come out that the Israeli Army policy is to murder their own, rather than to risk them being captured by the Gazan army. (or worse, see what the truth is in Gaza) Yeah, makes perfect sense.

So, I expect Gilad Shalit’s family are quite happy he was captured rather than murdered by Israel, at least he alive and well cared for, which is more than we can say about “other” Israelis the IDF took action against.

So if you are an Israeli citizen, watch out for the enemy within. Here's what Jonathan Cook has to say:

Israelis shot mental patient 'under controversial military directive'

The fatal shooting by Israeli soldiers of an Israeli man earlier this week as he tried to scale a fence into the Gaza Strip was reportedly part of a drastic procedure the army was supposed to have phased out several years ago.

The Israeli media reported that Yakir Ben-Melech, 34, had bled to death after he was shot under the "Hannibal procedure", designed to prevent Israelis from being taken captive alive by enemy forces.

One critic, Uri Avnery, a former Israeli legislator and leader of Gush Shalom, a small radical peace group, defined the procedure as meaning: “Liberate the soldier by killing him”.

The controversial directive, which was once one of the army’s best-kept secrets, was drafted more than 20 years ago after the Israeli government had come under domestic pressure to release hundreds of enemy prisoners for the return of three captured soldiers.more here

POLLARD IS A MORON

Well, looky here now, The Zionist Scum Spy serving a life sentence in America wants Israel to kill Jailed Palestinians until Shalit is freed. Nice. And what makes these people better than Al Qaeda who behead people? I’ll tell you…. Nothing at all, no difference. Shalit is a POW, and Shalit has been well cared for. Hamas managed to keep Israel from killing him during the genocide, so for that Israel owes Hamas a big fat “thank you.” But instead the Zionists just can’t resist more bloodshed, they love it. Trouble is that Israel has better sense than Pollard does, that’s why Pollard was caught, he’s a moron. Even the most racist, evil Zionist like Lieberman knows only too well that should Israel attempt anything like this the world would hold them to account unmercifully. Goldstone and the recent EU support for a divided Jerusalem would seem like child’s play in comparison to what would lay in store for Israel’s tenacious future. Perhaps the Prison’s Big Bubba could give Pollard a wee visit sometime soon and put some “manners” on him. Go on, make my day………

link An American convicted of spying for Israel is reportedly proposing that Israel kill Hamas prisoners rather than swap them for a captive Israeli soldier.

The Jerusalem Post daily reports that Jonathan Pollard says Israel should kill one Hamas prisoner every day until the militant group frees Sgt. Gilad Schalit (captured POW)Pollard, who is serving a life sentence in the U.S. for his 1985 spy conviction, also says he'd refuse to be exchanged for "terrorists."(CORRECTION: make that the democratically elected government in Gaza)

The paper said Wednesday that Pollard made the remarks to Israeli ultranationalist activist Moshe Feiglin who visited him in a prison in Butner, North Carolina.

Marwan Barghouti~Israel Will Not Negotiate If I Am President

I love this guy, always have. Hope he is on the list. He has a brilliant political mind and if he were to replace Abbas it would be a huge victory:

link Popular Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti said in an Italian newspaper report Wednesday that he believed he was among hundreds of prisoners due to be exchanged for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

The Israeli government said Tuesday an exchange was imminent but this has been played down by Hamas, which was among the militant groups that captured the 23-year-old soldier in Gaza in 2006.

Asked in a report in Italian daily Corriere della Sera if he was on a list of prisoners to be swapped, Barghuti, who is the West Bank leader of the Fatah faction, replied: "Yes. I hope that this time we are there."

"Some of our prisoners will at last be freed: those that no negotiations have managed to get out of prison."

"I am also part of this list," he said.

He was elected to the governing body of Fatah in August and is seen as a successor to outgoing Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.

Asked about Israeli reaction to the possibility that he could head the Palestinian authority, he said Israel had "decided it will not negotiate with Barghuti as president".

"But one should not worry, there are no elections for the moment," he said.

Barghuti said Abbas had been mistaken to place the emphasis only on negotiations and to have "believed US and Israeli promises".

And the result of US President Barack Obama's year in government has been "a big zero", he said.

Israel Tries To Trick HAMAS~Massive Fail

Watch out, major propaganda warning!! Today, the JerusalemPost is carrying a report that “Israel knows where Gilad Shalit is being held” and, moreover, they “claim” to have known for years now. This is utter and total rubbish. Time to spill the beans on this fake report which is attempting to “serve a purpose” of which Hamas are far too intelligent to take the bait on. Listen, if Israel know where he was, then during Genocide Cast Lead they’d have made a point of getting him out, using the cover of all those DIME missiles and white phosphorous bombs they dropped continually day and night for, count em, 28 days people!! Now, as Israel claims to be such a brilliant army, with state of the art weaponry, that never makes a mistake, is able to target individual Hamas members, get them and take them out, enter and exit Gaza at will. And yet, they don’t go rescue Shalit during all those 28 days?

What this is really all about is an attempt to create fear and insecurity within HAMAS that Israel may know his whereabouts, so that HAMAS will then make an attempt to move him at which time THEN Israel will be able to see where he is moved from and to. Sorry morons, me thinks HAMAS is smarter than this, but hey, nice try! Here’s the report, I mean “lie”

Israel knows the whereabouts of kidnapped soldier Gilad Schalit, a senior Jerusalem official told London-based newspaper Asharq Alawsat on Sunday.

The official said that the government knew where Schalit was initially taken immediately after his kidnapping, that it had consistently known where he was being held and that Hamas was aware of this.

ROFLMAO, consistantly known where he is..........now they have created yet another problem for themselves as now they need to invent some excuse for Israeli citizens as to "why" they have never gone to get him, see here:

Israel has avoided carrying out a rescue operation in order to prevent Schalit from being harmed, the official reportedly said. Furthermore, Hamas has wrecked the chances of an Israeli military maneuver by booby trapping the location where Schalit is being held and placing explosive devices nearly half a kilometer around the hideout, he was quoted as saying.

The source told Asharq Alawsat that Schalit's captors planned to kill him if Israel tried to free him by force.

Well, correct me if I'm wrong here, but Israel claims HAMAS are barbaric terrorists, yet I notice Shalit is looking well and been cared for. But let's take the Israeli position for one second. just for fun.So, using this same Zionist logic if a deranged American serial killer like Ted Bundy let's say, captures his next victim, the police are meant to stand idly by because he may kill the victim. And this is what Israel wants people to belive. Seriously, if they had the tiniest nano clue where he was, they'd have went after him during Cast Lead. Truth is they haven't a clue... simple as........ And this "report" is nothing more than an attempt to trick HAMAS into moving him, so they CAN find out where he is. Trouble is it's as transparent as glass....

Israel Trades Prisoners For Information

It is being reported that the Zionsits are trading 20 Palestinian women prisoners for information on the POW Gilad Shalit.

Israel will free 20 Palestinian women for information from Hamas on the condition of an Israeli soldier held in the Gaza Strip, an Egyptian security source and the Israeli prime minister's office said on Wednesday.

Egyptian and German mediators would continue to work on a deal to exchange the soldier, Gilad Shalit, for the hundreds of Hamas prisoners the Islamist movement has been demanding, the Egyptian source said.

In the meantime, Israel would receive proof Shalit was alive and details about his condition. source

Shalit~The Spin Stops Here

Perusing the news I see that nine(of 40 kidnapped) members of Hamas (the democratically elected government in Palestine) who are Lawmakers, not soldiers, are supposed to be freed by the Zionist Rogue State. This, no doubt in the run up to some deal for Shalit the POW. Yes, let’s call him what he is, a Prisoner of War. Something he would not be, but for the actions of Israel stealing land and attacking Palestine.

I digress, so back to today’s report of the nine lawmakers. I really have to laugh at this, here’s why; imagine this scenario in America. Let’s say American solders who are in Afghanistan, Iraq or very soon to be Pakistan (Remember "Blackwater"?? And you thought Cheney and Bush left the Whitehouse LOL, really!) the soldiers are there because of their government’s request. They are performing for their government, at the behest of their government, under orders from their government, they are “soldiers” doing soldiers work. They are not lawmakers in Washington; they are soldiers, two different jobs. So, continuing with this scenario, let’s say some members of the American army manage to capture a soldier from the opposing side. Then let’s say that the government of that country then orders their army to round up nine American lawmakers and kidnap them. Are you beginning to see the absurdity of this now? Are you picturing nine congressmen or nine senators being kidnapped from America, on American soil, and then jailed in another country because a soldier captured another soldier? I mean seriously, even Bush was not kidnapped or arrested for all of his lies and war crimes. But, one little IDF soldier is captured by the opposing army and all logic goes out the window. Israel then commits multiple crimes of kidnapping non-military lawmakers from the democratically elected Government of another country.

And if that’s not enough, they now EXPECT to be rewarded for releasing them, when they were illegally kidnapped non-combatant lawmakers. How’s that for Zionist logic! Here’s the story:

RAMALLAH, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- Israel is expected to free nine Hamas lawmakers who have been arrested since the capture of an Israeli soldier in 2006, a local prisoner rights group said on Wednesday.

The nine members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) are based in the West Bank and they have completed their 40-month detention sentence, said Ahrar center for prisoners' studies and human rights.

Israel arrested more than 40 members of the Hamas-dominated PLC in the West Bank in 2006 in response to the kidnapping of Israeli Corporal Gilad Shalit (and there you have the multiple kidnapping crimes committed by Israel for the capture of a soldier in a war!)

Twenty-five Hamas lawmakers would remain in custody while the nine legislators are freed, the center said in a statement sent to the media.(note that Israel will still illegaly hold on to the other 25 LAWMAKERS from the Palestinian government!)

Meanwhile, Hamas said its demands for freeing Shalit have not been changed. Hamas wants Israel to release more than 1,000 Palestinian and Arab prisoners in exchange for Shalit.

A senior Hamas source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the indirect talks to finalize the prisoners swap deal "is going on," adding "the deal would be finalized upon "what was declared on the first day of abducting Shalit."

The source refused to deny or confirm previous information saying that a prisoners swap deal "is expected before Moslems and Jewish holidays in late September."

However, the source said "the current talks are serious." link

Israel needs to release all the Palestinian prisoners who have been illegally kidnapped and imprisoned, then they can talk about Shalit.

Netanyahu Attempts Another Blackmail of US Official

Israel, after recently attempting to "blackmail" the US by linking any movement on a Palestinian Peace Process to allowing military actions on Iran, yesterday issued yet another "Blackmail" order to the US.

Net-and-Yahoo met with U.S. National Security Adviser James Jones in Jerusalem and informed Jones that the “Gaza blockade won’t end until Shalit (An Israeli POW) is released.”

Israel wants to be able to invade countries at will without consequences. Unfortunately for Israel, the law of averages says that eventually you will loose. The rate, number and amount of border fighting, incursions, invasions and raids at some point would see the capture of an Israeli soldier, it’s a war, do the math. Additionally Israel does not honour the Geneva Convention, or any other International legislation that could possibly cause problems for IDF actions that to the rest of the world would be seen as outrageous. As such, Israel looks particularly ridiculous crying foul because a soldier was captured in a war.

Shalit was a legitimate capture of an enemy combatant and fair game. He was captured during a war, and is a “Prisoner of War” (POW) This does not give Israel the right to continue it’s worldwide condemned illegal siege on the entire population of Gaza. Additionally, there is no peace process at this time; technically the two sides are at war. And until such time as the war has ended then Shalit will remain a POW, that’s how it works no matter if Israel likes it or not. POW’s are traditionally released when wars end, this war continues due to Israel’s refusal to commit to peace and stop building illegal settlements on Palestinian land, another act of war.

Let us not forget there are hundreds of Palestinian POWS as well, being held in deplorable conditions and many jailed without trail. Israel has recently committed acts of international Piracy, hijacked a boat, in international and Gazan waters, then kidnapped and jailed a former US congress woman and other international figures. Those international figures have personally witnessed the terrible treatment and conditions first hand. So long as Israel holds its Palestinian POWS, then Palestine has the same right to hold Shalit. This does not give Israel the right to continue to break international laws by collectively punishing an entire population due to a captured Israeli combatant who is now a legitimate POW. Story below:

Netanyahu told Jones that Israel would not fully open the Gaza border crossings until captive Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit was released.

Shalit was kidnapped by Gaza militants in a June 2006 cross-border raid. Hamas has demanded the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails in return for Shalit's freedom source

You can read about Israel blackmailing Obama on the peace process HERE

Israel Offers "CHICKEN" To Gaza

http://irish4palestine.blogspot.com

Israel wants to trade "Chickens and Canned Goods"for Gilad Shalit

The Zionist Entity wants to offer a "partial" lifting of the illegal siege as an incentive to get back the ZOF captured soldier Gilad Shalit. They are offering to allow these items into Gaza: coffee, tea, soups, meat, fish, canned goods, fuel, clothing, kitchenware and egg-laying chickens.

Now, I ask you, notice these things are the staples of life, not excessive items, just everyday items people need to survive. This points out the fact that the Zionist Entity is strangling human beings by an act of war illegal siege that if it occurred anywhere else in the world, America would be all over it like white on rice. I hope HAMAS tells them to "Feck Off" and holds out for a prisoner exchange, as there are hundreds of Palestinians who were kidnapped and interned, just like the recent peace activists were. HAMAS needs to tell Israel exactly where they can shove those "Chickens and Canned Goods" complete with instructions!

Israel mulling easing Gaza embargo

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's Defense Ministry has recommended a partial lifting of the embargo on Gaza as a goodwill gesture toward the Palestinians to spur along talks to free a long-held captive soldier, an Israeli news site reported Friday.

Israel has been linking the opening of Gaza's borders to the release of Sgt. Gilad Schalit, an Israeli soldier held by Hamas militants for three years. Hamas has been pushing for a deal to trade him for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

According to the new plan reported by the Israeli news Web site YNet, Israel would increased supplies of coffee, tea, soups, meat, fish and canned goods into Gaza ahead of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, which begins in August, to promote a deal for Schalit.

Israel would also renew shipments of fuel, clothing, kitchenware and egg-laying chickens as part of the package.

YNet reported that the proposal had been drafted by defense officials and awaits the approval of Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
link

http://irish4palestine.blogspot.com

"Shalit" May Not Be Alive

President Jimmy Carter recently delivered a letter from Israel addressed to Gilad Shalit the IDF prisoner of war. HAMAS says they will deliver the letter to Shalit "if he survived" the recent Gaza holocaust. Perhaps Israel should have thought about how severely they bombed and the types of weapons they used. Raining down white phosphorous and DIME missiles, they may have murdered one of their own.

Hamas leader Dr Osama Am-Maziny promised on Monday to deliver a letter from the family of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit if the prisoner survived Israeli's assault on Gaza last winter.

"Hamas received the letter and promised to send it to the relevant persons. If he is alive it will reach him, but if he is dead it won’t reach him because we actually don’t know if he is still alive after the Gaza war," he said.

Former US President Jimmy Carter had delivered a letter from the family of the captured soldier to Hamas officials in Gaza earlier this month, in an attempt to restart flailing negotiations over his fate and the fate of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

"Carter asked for a confirmation from us and we replied that we don’t know the real fact about whether he is dead or alive after Gaza’s war," Am-Maziny added.

Meanwhile, the Hamas official noted that Shalit's location is an extremely guarded secret, and that Israel "doesn't know where [Shalit] is in spite of its spies," adding that recent reports that Israel does not know whether the soldier is alive is true, "not a media speech."

Regardless, the official said that there has been little progress on the soldier's case, but that in the first year of Shalit's detainment, there were understandings reached with Israel. Am-Maziny said that such negotiations ended with the administration of former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who left office earlier this year. source

Talks May Resume on Shalit

I would take this with a grain of salt as the story quotes "Palestinian Sources" and not HAMAS. Unless and until I see a statement from HAMAS, I will view this as possible propaganda.

Palestinian sources say there is reason to believe that significant progress has been made in talks on a prisoner swap between Hamas and Israel, the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat.

Sources told the paper that both sides have presented serious proposals and that Hamas has shown newfound flexibility on the issue of relocating West Bank Hamas members to Gaza.

As part of a prisoner exchange for captive soldier Gilad Shalit, Israel is demanding that Hamas agree to absorb prisoners into Gaza rather than allowing them to return to their homes in the West Bank.

Egypt's intelligence chief Omar Suleiman on Monday told Yossi Beilin, the former justice minister and architect of the non-government Geneva peace initiative, that he has yet to meet with Israel's newly named point man to the Shalit prisoner talks, Hagai Hadas.

Suleiman said that if the Palestinian factions fail to reach agreement on forming the panel by July 7, he will end his mediation of inter-factional talks.

Beilin's trip comes one day after Defense Minister Ehud Barak met with senior officials on the latest developments in the Shalit talks.

According to information recently received in Israel, Egypt would like to see negotiations for the release of Shalit resume from the point at which they left off during the final days of the Olmert government.

However, the Egyptians have also asked Israel to abandon its plan to exile some of the Palestinian prisoners that will be released in exchange for Shalit's freedom. link