Lebanon: Another Bush Puppet Gets Strings Tangled

Bush aid to arm the Lebanese Army has really gone to a puppet militia.

QUOTE: Prime Minister Fouad Siniora loses more of his waning influence and status. One of his main problems is that he is increasingly seen as a Bush administration puppet. . . "The money the Bush administration has spent has been to create a Sunni 'Internal Security Force' not for the Lebanese but for the 'ruling team' (the name the oppositions and its allies call the current government of Lebanon) which is no more than a militia run by pro-American officers. Hezbollah could defeat and disband this Bush militia in three hours of less", according to one long time UNIFIL program administrator.

Street Notes from the Hamra District

Hezbollah Eases Up and Beirut Opens Its Shutters

By FRANKLIN LAMB

Saturday Afternoon May 10 2008 witnessed a pronounced easing of tension.

Based on a US Congressional source, the Siniora government is reportedly able, with US approval, to offer the following face-saving proposal to Hezbollah to end the current crisis:

1. Hezbollah can keep its landline optic telecommunication cables for use in its Resistance struggle against Israel. But they should be put under "State Control".

Translation: Hezbollah controls them exclusively same as now and no one else will touch them. But 'officially' they will be under 'State' control, i.e. not State control.

2. Concerning the other major issue regarding the head of Beirut Airport Security, General Wafiq Shouqair gets reassigned but Hezbollah gets to name his replacement.

Translation: Wafiq stays in office, keeps his authority and puts his deputy's name card slipped over his on the office nameplate.

The public version of the proposal above reads a bit differently as offered this afternoon by Siniora. It does not mention to the public "due to sectarian sensitivities" points one and two above. It also includes the formation of a national unity government in which the minority cannot block decisions and the majority cannot impose them.

Siniora has also proposed a five-point introduction to a settlement, including placing the two government decisions in the hands of the army but will withdraw these quietly.

The Lebanese army announced at 5:30 p.m. Beirut time that it recommended that the two government measures against that had triggered the group to take control of Beirut, and the military urged gunmen to withdraw from the streets.

The army said in a statement it was keeping the head of the security at Beirut airport Wafiq Shouqair in his post and that it would handle Hezbollah's communications network in a way "that would not harm public interest and the security of the resistance."

Lebanon's U.S.-backed Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said earlier on Saturday that he was putting the two issues, which have sparked the worst fighting in Lebanon since the 1975-90 civil war, into the hands of the Lebanese army.

Hezbollah has issued no comment on this report as of press time.

The current situation in Hamra

Many Hezbollah fighters left the streets of Hamra and turned them over to the Lebanese Army which had been largely absent on Friday.

Some of Hezbollah's withdrawing 'regulars' were replaced by 'reserves'.

"Its good for their training", one fellow who was obviously in charge outside of Starbucks on Hamra Street, explained through an interpreter. Some Hezbollah and Amal forces seemed quite willing to speak with the media about their mission.

Some pro-opposition commentators wandered around Hamra trying to assure returning residents.

"This was not a coup! Think of it as a protest and message to Bush and Olmert. If we wanted a coup we could surround the Serail. Mr. Siniora would perhaps hand us the keys. We don't want them. Let's all prepare for elections and let the people decide who sits in Parliament and makes up Cabinet."

Hezbollah reportedly has excellent relations with the Lebanese Army and wants to maintain them. Evidence of this is apparent today as Hezbollah's forces made a point of politely and almost paternally yielding some of their street corner locations to the Army with handshakes and sometimes kisses.

Outside Costa Coffee down from the Bristol Hotel, one seasoned Hezbollah fighter spoke to some obviously younger and 'greener' Party members and instructed them on their duties as they relieved him and he headed south for rest. He explained that things went fairly smoothly yesterday and that they would likely see residents start returning to Hamra. "Be helpful to those who need help. Assure them their neighborhood is secure and safe. We will start no violence and if someone else wants to we can assure those in who live in Hamra that we will quickly deal with troublemakers".

A few isolated acts of vandalism were reported yesterday and an internal joint Hezbollah-Amal investigation is underway to find out about what happened and insure that there is no recurrence. "No bad behavior by our fighters or any of our allies will be tolerated and bad behavior (from our side) will be severely punished and if vandalism occurred, Hezbollah will pay for it! Lebanon knows our standards. Remember during the July 2006 War. When our fighters had to use food and water that belonged to absent owners we left IOUs on the table. Everyone was later paid."

Some Amal guys were looking for an open sandwich shop but doubted that "people here in Hamra make sandwiches as great as we have in Ouzai. Our area has the best kebabs in all of Lebanon!!" (this observer did not have the heart to ask the young man if this was his first time outside of his "area").

"We will be magnanimous toward our adversaries in the small victory we achieved the past couple of days", explained 'Ali' an acquaintance of this observer who also lives in Haret Hreik.

"If the "ruling team" wants to claim victory that is fine with us. They can attack us verbally all they want. We are used to this. This situation was forced on us and we defended ourselves. Now we should seek a just and quick solution and heal any wounds", one young woman, obviously a Hezbollah supporter explained as she chatted with some fighters and journalists. She added, "We want dialogue and a fair peaceful solution. We are a Resistance movement and will not participate in a civil war".

As of this afternoon the losers and winners appear as follows:

The main losers obviously are the Bush administration, Israel and their Welch Club allies. Personal losers are Amin Gemayel, barely still the "leader" of the Phalange Party, as he talks tough and tries to rally his 'forces'...from Paris. Samir Geagea has pretty much nudged him aside and is reportedly casting his dark gaze toward Saad Hariri who may be planning to retire from politics and help with the very big family business. After the parties meet with President Bush next week, a 'shaking out' process may begin.

Walid Jumblatt is another loser since his provocations, taunts, and Welch Club cheerleader role to take on Hezbollah left him at its mercy both in the Mountains and in his Beirut home. Whatever credibility he had has evaporated. Among the Druze there is discord and inter-party fisticuffs as there was last night in Choufeit when Jumblatt asked the army to occupy and secure his Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) HQ but some of the younger members threatened violence, as the villagers watched beneath a huge a poster of party founder Kamal Jumblatt and the army and Jumblatt jr. backed off. PSP problems will require Walid's sustained attention for some while party members explained last evening to this observer.

Prime Minister Fouad Siniora loses more of his waning influence and status. One of his main problems is that he is increasingly seen as a Bush administration puppet. Not least of his worries this morning, as he prepares to avoid being dumped by Bush next week, is the ringing endorsement he received yesterday from Secretary of State Rice, without bringing herself to mention Siniora by name:

"Our support for the legitimate Lebanese government, its democratic institutions, and its security services is unwavering. This support is a reflection of our unshakable commitment to the Lebanese people and their hope for democratic change, economic prosperity, and confessional harmony. We will stand by the Lebanese government and peaceful citizens of Lebanon through this crisis and provide the support they need to weather this storm."

She would not even mention his name as she employed the standard State Department verbiage just before a US puppet is dumped. It was dusted off from Vietnam days when JFK (Diem) and LBJ (Thieu) used almost identical language before switching horses.

The rest of Rice's analysis seemed to many in Lebanon, whose population is among the most politically sophisticated in many ways, as simply obtuse: "No one has a right to deprive Lebanese citizens of their political and economic freedom, their right to move freely within their country, or their sense of safety and security".

State Department officials said this morning that the international coalition supporting the Lebanese state against Hezbollah has never been stronger. Washington believes Hezbollah has "bitten off a bit too much" and now risks alienating the rest of Lebanon's population, including Hezbollah's important Christian allies, an official said.

The Bush administration reminded the World that it has spent $1.3 billion over the past two years to prop up Siniora's government, with about $400 million dedicated to boosting Lebanon's security forces. This statement constitutes a hoax according to some informed observers in Lebanon:

"The money the Bush administration has spent has been to create a Sunni 'Internal Security Force' not for the Lebanese but for the 'ruling team' (the name the oppositions and its allies call the current government of Lebanon) which is no more than a militia run by pro-American officers. Hezbollah could defeat and disband this Bush militia in three hours of less", according to one long time UNIFIL program administrator.

One frustrated US Senate Intelligence Committee staffer emailed this morning with a tinge of irony and cynicism:

Referring to President Bush: "Now this loser has really done it. Having effectively delivered Iraq and Afghanistan to Iran, he has now handed them Lebanon. Mark my words, Saudi Arabia is next and the Saudis know it and will make a deal with Iran."

The major winners are obvious: Lebanon's Christian population allied with General Michel Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), Hezbollah, Amal and their Sunni, Druze and international supporters.

Hassan Nasrallah's position is probably the strongest it has ever been, not just in Lebanon but throughout the region. If he wanted to be a dictator of all of Lebanon, which he eschews, he could have the position today.

Rami Khoury, writing in Beirut's Daily Star this morning got it right in this observer's view when he wrote:

Nasrallah's task now is to create an inclusive environment conducive to the answering of these and other challenges. He and his party cannot be expected to come up with all of the solutions, and nor should they want to: If they cannot draw other players - and not just their closest allies - into the process, Nasrallah runs the risk of being cast as a dictator by default.

Hizbullah and its partners have frequently argued that their counterparts in the March 14 Forces coalition were not interested in true partnership, only in dictating terms. Now Nasrallah has to prove that his side is ready, willing and able to live up to its own expectations, and speed is of the essence: After 15 years of civil war, 15 of diluted sovereignty, and three of limbo, the Lebanese deserve at last to have a level of politics commensurate with their talents and energies. If Nasrallah is the man who makes this happen, history will judge his actions to have been a revolution, not a coup, and a long-overdue one at that.

Late news is that the airport may open by Monday but this is not certain.

Franklin Lamb can be reached at fplamb@gmail.com

http://counterpunch.com/lamb05102008.html

Lebanese Army "Confirms" Hezbollah Victory Over US-backed Government

QUOTE: "The Shia have won," said one young man - - quote from a Guardian story of 5/9/2008

COMMENT: The Lebanese Army made the Shia victory "official" when it overturned government measures against the Hezbollah communications network and surveillance cameras. (The cowardly Siniora government, which is almost a US puppet, tossed its responsibility to the Army rather than rescind it's anti-Hezbollah measures itself.) The lengthy story below gives a good summary of events in Lebanon that you're not likely to find in the American media.

SPECIAL NOTE: pay careful attention to the comment below about fear that the Lebanese Army could break apart into confessional factions. Much the same fear applies in Iraq.

Last update - 19:21 10/05/2008 [Israel time]

Hezbollah fighters start withdrawing from Beirut

By Yoav Stern and Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondents and Agencies

Hezbollah TV announced Saturday evening that Hezbollah-led opposition forces would withdraw all their gunmen from Beirut in compliance with the Lebanese army's request.

An opposition statement says the move comes after the army issued a statement calling on gunmen to get off the street and reopen the roads.

But the statement said a civil disobedience campaign will continue until the group's demands are met.

The announcement came after the Lebanese army overturned government measures against the group, which sparked clashes in and around Beirut that left dozens dead after four days of fighting.

Hezbollah moved Thursday to seize the Sunni neighborhoods of Beirut after its leader Hassan Nasrallah accused the U.S.-backed government of declaring war on his group when it declared the organization's communications network illegal and ordered the removal of the airport security chief for alleged ties to the militants.

On Saturday, Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said the decision on the communications issue would be dealt with by the army, which promptly overturned the two anti-Hezbollah measures.

While Siniora in effect backed away from the government decisions to curb the militant group's power, he also toughened his rhetoric against Hezbollah, which he accused of staging a coup.

Death toll reaches 37 in four days of Lebanon clashes

In the latest incident of violence in Lebanon, at least 12 gunmen were killed and 20 wounded in a gunbattle between pro- and anti-government groups in a remote region of northern Lebanon.

Saturday's gunbattle occurred in the town of Halba in Akkar, a remote Sunni region in northernmost Lebanon when fighters loyal to Sunni leader Sa'ad Hariri and the government clashed with members of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, a secular pro-Syrian group allied with the Shiite Hezbollah.

The pro-government fighters stormed the office of the SSNP and set it ablaze after the gunbattle.

The number raises to 37 the death toll since Shi'ite-Sunni sectarian erupted in Beirut on Wednesday and spread to other regions.

Earlier Saturday, a Shi'ite shopowner opened fire on a funeral procession Saturday in a Sunni neighborhood of Beirut, killing two and wounding six, a day after Shi'ite gunmen swept through the Lebanese capital's Muslim sector, police and witnesses said.

The shooting in the neighborhood of Tarik Jadideh underlined the state of lawlessness and the sharpened sectarian tensions that have engulfed the Lebanese capital's Muslim sector since Sunni-Shi'ite fighting erupted on Wednesday resulting in Hezbollah's takeover of neighborhoods from Sunnis loyal to the U.S.-backed government.

By Saturday afternoon, the army had replaced Hezbollah in most of the Muslim neighborhoods seized by the militant group.

Tarik Jadideh was a stronghold of Sunni supporters of majority coalition leader Sa'ad Hariri. Shi'ite gunmen did not enter that neighborhood, where Lebanese troops deployed to prevent an onslaught by Hezbollah.

Elsewhere in the capital Saturday, Beirutis cautiously ventured out in small numbers to streets held by both Lebanese troops and lingering bands of Shi'ite gunmen.

Beirut had a quiet night Friday after the worst sectarian violence since the end of the 1975-90 civil war, in which 150,000 were killed and parts of the city wrecked as it was carved into warring sectarian enclaves. But the violence moved outside the capital, leaving 20 more people dead in addition to the 17 killed in Beirut.

People ventured out to check on their shops, cars and to stock up on food after days of being trapped inside by the fighting.

The Christian sector of Beirut was peaceful and was not involved in the violence.

The army, which had stayed on the sidelines until moving into Beirut neighborhoods on Saturday, brought in more armor and troops to seal off neighborhoods where top pro-government leaders - Hariri of the Sunnis and Walid Jumblatt of the Druze - were holed up in their residences.

Violence also erupted in the mountain town of Aley east of Beirut. Eight people were killed there on Friday night. Another civilian died in the clashes in the southern city of Sidon.

Hezbollah's power was demonstrated dramatically Friday morning when it forced off the air the TV station affiliated with Hariri's party. Gunmen also set the offices of the party's newspaper, Al-Mustaqbal, on fire in the coastal neighborhood of Ramlet el-Bayda. Shi'ite gunmen from Hezbollah and Amal, and allied group, roamed unopposed through the deserted streets of neighborhoods once dominated by supporters of Hariri and the government.

Lebanon's army only intervened after the building was set ablaze. Troops provided cover for firefighters, who eventually extinguished the flames.

The army also evacuated employees from the TV station, but only after gunmen massed near it and threatened to destroy it, said Nadim Mounla, the station's chief.

With Hariri and Jumblatt besieged in their residences in Muslim western Beirut, officials of the pro-government majority called an emergency meeting of legislators in a mountain town in the Christian heartland northeast of Beirut, said LBC TV, a pro-government Christian station.

Lebanese political commentators have branded the violence an attempted military coup.

The army has largely avoided getting involved in the street battles, preferring to remain above the political fray for fear of being dragged into the conflict. The institution could break up on sectarian lines if it takes on Hezbollah's powerful militia or any major party.

Dozens of fighters from the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, a Hezbollah ally, also appeared in the streets off Hamra, some masked and carrying rocket-propelled grenade launchers.

Shops in the normally bustling commercial district closed save for a few pharmacies and grocery stores.

The unrest virtually shut down Lebanon's international airport for a third day and barricades closed major highways. Hezbollah first blocked roads in Beirut on Wednesday to enforce a strike called by labor unions, but confrontations quickly spread across the city.

Later, Hariri made a televised appeal to Nasrallah seeking to calm the conflict.

"My appeal to you and to myself as well, the appeal of all Lebanon, is to stop the slide toward civil war, to stop the language of arms and lawlessness," said Hariri, son of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who was assassinated in 2005.

The clashes are the latest turn in a test of wills between the Hezbollah-led opposition and the government of Siniora. The U.S.-backed government has only a slim majority in parliament, and the two sides have been locked in a 17-month power struggle that has kept government at a standstill.

The fight could have implications for the entire Middle East at a time when Sunni-Shi'ite tensions are high. The tensions are fueled in part by the rivalry between predominantly Shiite Iran, which sponsors Hezbollah, and Sunni Arab countries like Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/981696.html

Why Hamas and Hezbollah Will Win

The quote is from Lebanon, but it applies equally well to Palestine: the "opposition" are motivated by strongly held beliefs, not just money. (A quote from an Israeli politician advocated working with Fatah in Palestine because "we can bribe them" -- and that's what has happened, though Abu Quisling Abbas's corrupt Fatah regime is now on its last legs. Like Hamas in Palestine, Hezbollah in Lebanon gets its strength from the honesty and idealism of its members.)

QUOTE: "The Shia have won," said one young man, in Tareeq Jedida area on the Sunni side of Corniche al-Mazra'a "They [the Sunnis] pay me $100 to fight, the Shia are fighting for their beliefs, and man, they have been fighting for 25 years, we can't match them."

Sunni v Shia

'We are just trying to clear the thorns from our side ... by God we will finish them soon'

Ghaith Abdul Ahad, foreign correspondent of the year, reports on Lebanon's street battle

Less than 10 minutes after Hassan Nasrallah finished his speech, the message came to the fighters on the ground.

Standing in the Corniche al Mazra'a, a shopping avenue which separates Sunni from Shia areas in West Beirut, a Hizbullah commander with a wary face said: "The war has begun."

Hours earlier he had been directing dozens of street thugs from the Amal movement - with spiky hair and tight jeans - armed with knives and stones, as they burned tyres and rubbish containers in demonstrations against the pro-western government.

Like a traffic conductor, he organised the stone throwing at Sunnis across the street, raising his arm for a volley to start and then pushing back the teenagers to stop. But Nasrallah's speech put an end to that. The teenagers disappeared and in their place, about 20 Shia gunmen, Hizbullah gunmen, took up their positions on the street corners. The game had changed.

"Wait," the commander called, "don't start shooting before the army withdraws." As soon as the last of the soldiers separating the groups ran into armoured vehicles the fighting began.

The Amal Shia fighters in their designer sunglasses, jeans and US military boots started firing their Kalashnikov and M16 rifles.

"Wait," shouted the commander, a mobile phone on one ear, radio on the other, "the army is still withdrawing."

"Why are they still here?" asked a fighter as he emptied his magazine from behind the corner of building. A picture of the prime minister could be seen across the road where Sunni fighters from the Future movement fired back. At least five Shia policemen, from a unit allied with leader of Amal, joined the fight. Still in government uniforms they took positions and fired at the Sunnis.

"Haj, they are hiding behind that van," said one of them, addressing the commander. "Where is the B7 [Lebanese speak for the Russian rocket-propelled grenade]?" shouted a fighter.

A young man in a balaclava brought the rocket launcher forward, on his back a sack filled with rockets. A policeman took it on his shoulder as three fighters ran into the street firing continuously, providing him with cover. An explosion followed and the rocket seared across the road. The van went up in flames.

Sniper bullets fired from the Sunni side hit the streets in front of the fighters, whipping the air with ricochets.

As night fell the radio crackled with good news for the Hizbullah commander: other Shia units had taken Sunni positions in the south and were pushing to the west. "We are trying to clear the area from the thorns in our side, we are just attacking the Future headquarters, we are not attacking the civilians. We started yesterday and by God we will finish them soon."

On the street the battle raged with each side falling into a pattern of attack and counter-attack. The early morning brought light rain and the realisation that Beirut had so quickly reclaimed the title of capital of street fighting. Bullet cases littered the road. By now Shia fighters were in full control.

In Hamra, the main boulevard and the heart of Sunni Beirut, Hizbullah fighters in camouflage carried rocket launchers and M16s alongside the shops. The notoriously secretive fighters, who were previously only seen on the Hizbullah propaganda war footage or on rare occasions on the frontlines with Israel during the war, were now patrolling alongside Costa coffee outlets and designer clothes stores.

An air of defeat hung over the Sunni areas. "The Shia have won," said one young man, in Tareeq Jedida area on the Sunni side of Corniche al-Mazra'a "They [the Sunnis] pay me $100 to fight, the Shia are fighting for their beliefs, and man, they have been fighting for 25 years, we can't match them."

This article appeared in the Guardian on Saturday May 10 2008 on p26 of the International section. It was last updated at 00:12 on May 10 2008.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/may/10/lebanon.syria

Ethnic Cleansing (Unofficial) in Israel

Reminiscent of the harassment American Blacks have often had to endure.

8 Jerusalem youths arrested for allegedly stabbing 2 Israeli Arabs

By Haaretz Service

Eight youths from Jerusalem were arrested Tuesday on suspicion they assaulted and stabbed two Israeli Arabs, residents of the Shuafat refugee camp, Army Radio reported.

The assault occurred on the eve of Memorial Day for Israel's Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism near the entrance to the Pisgat Ze'ev shopping mall.

One of the victims sustained moderate wounds and his friend did not require any medical care.

According to Army Radio, the eight suspects said during police questioning that the assault was part of efforts to rid the Pisgat Ze'ev neighborhood of Arabs. The suspects said the neighborhood had been overrun by Arabs who were harassing Jewish girls and causing a ruckus.

Last update - 17:53 06/05/2008

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/981343.html

Report: Israeli government lied about lifting restrictions on movement

Israel lied? So what's new? Condoleezza Rice if finding out about Israeli "truth" and "promises" on her May, 2008, trip to the area. It's a pity that the Presidents and staff only wake up to Israel so near the end of their terms (when they don't have to face re-election, they can stand up to the Israel lobby).

Report at: http://www.btselem.org/english/Freedom_of_Movement/20080428_so_called_lifting_of_restritcions.asp

http://www.imemc.org/article/54640

Report: Israeli government lied about lifting restrictions on movement

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Saed Bannoura

IMEMC News

The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, B'Tselem, has issued a report finding that the Israeli government has continued to maintain severe and comprehensive restrictions on movement in the West Bank, despite claims to the contrary.

Removal of some of the 700 Israeli checkpoints and roadblocks is one of several things that the Israeli government agreed to do as part of an agreement with the Palestinian Authority. But the Israeli government has not removed roadblocks as promised. The Israeli government also promised to halt settlement expansion in the West Bank, but has instead increased settlement expansion.

According to B'Tselem, the Israeli government recently announced that at the end of March 2008, the army began removing 61 physical obstructions ­ dirt piles, boulders, and blocks ­ it had placed inside the West Bank. The obstructions were purportedly removed following Israel’s commitment, made in March to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, to reduce restrictions on Palestinian movement in the West Bank. However, B'Tselem’s investigation and investigations by other human rights organizations indicate that the government’s declaration was no more than sleight of hand.

B'Tselem requested from the public-relations unit of the Ministry of Defense and from the Coordinator of Government Operations in the Territories a list of the physical obstructions that had allegedly been removed. To date, neither of the two governmental bodies has provided such a list. Relying on reports given to journalists, diplomats, and international organizations, B'Tselem independently compiled the list. When it investigated further, B'Tselem found that Israel’s claims were false.

Most of the physical obstructions on the list had, in fact, been breached by local Palestinians or had been removed by the army before Israel made its commitment to Secretary Rice. An appreciable number of the obstructions and been placed in the northern West Bank, primarily in the area of Tulkarm, Qalqiliya, and Jenin, immediately after the terror attack in Dimona, on 4 February 2008, and were removed in the following weeks. Other physical obstructions on the list, many of which had been placed at the entrance to dirt roads leading to private farmland, had little effect on the fabric of life of the general population. However, obstructions placed on vital roads, affecting the entire Palestinian population in the West Bank, were not on the list.

Furthermore, at a number of places in the northern West Bank, obstructions that had previously been removed by the residents were moved back into place by army bulldozers. The army then took pictures of these obstructions before removing them the same day or the following day.

B'Tselem gave the following examples of these 'staged' removals:

In early February, the army placed three obstructions composed of boulders and dirt piles at the southern entrance to Bal’a, a town northeast of Tulkarm. On 5-7 March, in coordination with the army, the Bal’a municipality removed the obstructions and reopened the entrance. According to local residents, at the end of March, an Israeli bulldozer, guarded by soldiers, again placed an obstruction blocking the entrance. Residents wanting to ride along the road were delayed by the army, which filmed the vehicles waiting on either side of the physical obstruction. Immediately afterward, the bulldozer removed the obstruction, which the army also filmed. This obstruction is on the list of physical obstructions that the army contends were removed as part of its efforts to "ease" Palestinian movement.

On 31 March, the army placed three obstructions made of boulders and dirt piles on the road running between Deir al-Ghussun and al-Jarushiya, which lie about one kilometer apart, north of Tulkarm. According to local residents, the next day, an Israeli bulldozer removed the three obstructions, while an army film crew documented the obstructions before and during their removal. These obstructions, too, appear on the list.

At the end of November 2007, the army placed three dirt obstructions on the road linking the villages of al-Funduq and Hajja, east of Qalqiliya, and another obstruction at the exit from the village of Jinsafut, in the direction of Route 55. These obstructions were removed by residents in early January 2008. Another obstruction, placed at the exit from the village of al-Masqufa, was removed by residents on 7 March. These five obstructions are also on the list.

Another prominent example involves Bizzariya, a village situated east of Tulkarm. In February, following the terrorist attack in Dimona, the army blocked the main roads linking the village and Tulkarm. Later that same month, the army removed the temporary checkpoints and residents removed the dirt piles. Residents state that, on 31 March, the army closed the exits from the village by means of boulders and dirt piles, and immediately afterwards an army bulldozer came and removed them. The army filmed the placement and removal of the obstructions, which are on the list of obstructions that were removed to ease Palestinian movement.

In addition to the government’s declaration that some physical obstructions had been removed, the media reported that two permanent checkpoints had purportedly been removed: the Rimonim (a-Tayba) checkpoint, east of a-Tayba, and the Almog checkpoint on Route 1, the road running between Jericho and the northern Dead Sea. B'Tselem’s investigation shows that while the Rimonim checkpoint was indeed removed, the Almog checkpoint remains operational, and Palestinians are not allowed to cross it to get to the northern Dead Sea.

Its repeated promises to "ease" restrictions on movement imply that Israel views the Palestinians’ fundamental right to freedom of movement as a privilege that it can grant or deny as it wishes. In practice, Israel continues to restrict Palestinian movement inside the West Bank with a variety of means, including hundreds of physical obstructions and dozens of permanent checkpoints. The objective of many of these obstructions and checkpoints is not to prevent entry into Israel but to make it difficult for residents to travel between towns and villages inside the West Bank, and for terrorists to reach the last checkpoints before entering Israel. These restrictions gravely affect the residents’ right to freedom of movement and other fundamental rights, such as the right to proper medical treatment, to education, and to work. This harm has great long-term effects on Palestinians, including their ability to rebuild the Palestinian economy and Palestinian society.

B'Tselem called on Israel to immediately remove all restrictions on movement inside the West Bank and to concentrate its efforts to protect Israelis on checkpoints between the West Bank and Israel.

George Bush, Where's the Beef?

Bush desperately wants an excuse to attack Iran and remove it as a threat to Israel, as he removed Saddam Hussein. But he needs a pretext, and "Weapons of Mass Destruction" will no longer do. So it's now that Iran is "killing" US soldiers by providing arms to Shi'ite militias in Iraq. Where's the proof?

Iraq says no 'conclusive' evidence on some Iran arms to militias

Published: 05.04.08, 21:09 / Israel News

A top Iraqi official said Sunday there was no ''conclusive'' evidence that Shiite extremists have been directly supplied with some Iranian arms as alleged by the United States.

Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Iraq does not want trouble with any country, ''especially Iran.'' Al-Dabbagh was commenting on talks this week in Tehran between an Iraqi delegation and Iranian authorities aimed at halting suspected Iranian aid to some Shiite militias. Asked about reports that some rockets made in 2007 or 2008 and seized in raids against militias were directly supplied by Iran, al-Dabbagh replied: ''There is no conclusive evidence.'' (AP)

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3539490,00.html

Why Hamas is so Popular

This is why Hamas won the Palestinian elections: it CARES about people. The corrupt government of Abu Quisling Abbas and his Fatah Party only cares about lining their own pockets.

Report: Hamas use police cars to as taxi service in Gaza

The Gaza Strip's ruling Hamas militant group is using its police cars to ferry around Palestinians because of severe fuel shortages in the area. The blue police cars are marked with orange stickers that read "we are ready to drive you for free."

Transportation has been paralyzed throughout Gaza since Israel restricted gasoline and diesel supplies last month. Gazans now walk, ride bicycles or use vegetable oil in their cars to get around. Israel has steadily limited fuel supplies to Gaza to pressure Palestinian militants to halt their rocket barrages on neighboring Israeli communities. (AP)

Published: 05.04.08, 13:11 / Israel News

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3539232,00.html

Israel Arrests Thousands of Palestinians Each Year

Interesting story on mass arrests. Often Israeli papers carry headlines such as "21 Palestinians arrested overnight in West Bank."

QUOTE: In 2007 alone the Shin Bet arrested some 5,000 Palestinians in the West Bank. In 2007 alone the Shin Bet arrested some 5,000 Palestinians in the West Bank. In that year 2,526 indictments were handed down (a small number of them against wanted individuals who were arrested the year before). The rate of plea bargains is extraordinarily high. According to data of Yesh Din, 9,123 cases were heard in the military courts in 2006

Not the Guantanamo model

By Amos Harel

Shin Bet security service coordinators who stood above the bodies of the two terrorists who penetrated Makor Hayim Yeshiva in Kibbutz Kfar Etzion, south of Bethlehem, on January 24, could barely conceal their surprise. The Shin Bet personnel were well-acquainted with the terrorists, who had intended to perpetrate a hostage-taking attack but were killed at short range by instructors in the yeshiva. The Shin Bet men had helped capture them, following a previous offense a little more than a year earlier, whose modus vivendi recalled the latest attack.

The two assailants, Mohammed and Mahmoud Samarana - cousins - from Beit Ummar, north of Hebron, were arrested in 2006 after infiltrating the settlement of Bat Ayin near Kfar Etzion. The two, together with a third accomplice, broke into a caravan housing two soldiers who were guarding the settlement, threatened the soldiers with a knife and stole a rifle. The incident was classified as criminal (the cousins were not identified with any terrorist group at the time), and the three were sentenced to relatively short prison terms of slightly more than a year in a plea bargain. They were released in the middle of January 2008.

Hardly 10 days passed before the Samarana cousins, who apparently became involved with Hamas while in prison, attacked again. Armed with a knife and a pistol, they broke into the yeshiva, lightly wounded two civilians and took a few students hostage. Only the heroism of the instructors, who charged the two and killed them, prevented a far more serious outcome, along the lines of the attack at Merkaz Harav Yeshiva in Jerusalem six weeks later.

For the security officials in charge of the war on terrorism in the territories, this is not an isolated incident. The military courts, which every year deal with more than 10,000 Palestinians, are a long production line whose judicial standards are far from those that are enforced in the civilian judicial system inside the Green Line. The criticism of the military courts usually emanates from one direction: left-wing organizations and human rights groups. Last December, Yesh Din, an organization that works to counter "the continuing violation of Palestinian human rights" in the territories (as its Web site says) published a blistering report entitled "Backyard Proceedings" on the manner in which Palestinian defendants are denied due process.

Now it turns out that criticism is being leveled from the opposite direction as well: from within the defense establishment. The claim is that the court proceedings make it impossible to exhaust the letter of the law, that the vast number of indictments compels the Military Advocate General's Office to choose plea bargains as a default option. The result is that dangerous individuals, who started out only as accomplices or as failed terrorists, are given too brief prison terms and return too quickly to the terror arena.

These critics are motivated by something radically different from the concerns of the human rights organizations. It is not prisoners' rights that bother the security authorities but the rights of the next possible victim of the prisoners after their release. Some believe the level of punishment is too light in terms of the system's constraints, and that apart from the Israel Defense Forces field commanders in the West Bank and the Shin Bet coordinators who work closely with them, no one is unduly concerned about this. The judicial system is only too happy to rid itself of excess baggage in terms of cases, and the public mistakenly believes the danger of terrorism has passed.

The impressive success of the Shin Bet and the IDF in stemming the wave of terror emanating from the West Bank from 2003 to 2007 (a certain erosion apparently occurred at the beginning of this year) creates a somewhat exaggerated image of quiet and insensitivity to breaches in the anti-terror alignment, of which the Military Advocate General's Office is supposed to be a part.

"It is the intolerable lightness of release [from prison]," a senior security source told Haaretz. "The judicial system in the territories has few resources. It wants plea bargains because it is incapable of conducting thousands of trials simultaneously. A train-station atmosphere is created. This is a weak link in the chain of prevention and punishment of terrorism, despite the supreme effort the military prosecution has made in recent months in a bid to stop the erosion. It received somewhat bigger resources, but in practice, in indictments for an offense that is less than murder, there is little room for maneuver. The bottom line is that terrorists are released too quickly. Every year the Shin Bet and the IDF rearrest dozens of former prison inmates who revert to engaging in terrorism."

In 2007 alone the Shin Bet arrested some 5,000 Palestinians in the West Bank. In that year 2,526 indictments were handed down (a small number of them against wanted individuals who were arrested the year before). The rate of plea bargains is extraordinarily high. According to data of Yesh Din, 9,123 cases were heard in the military courts in 2006 (about a third of them for terrorist activity, the others for disturbing the peace, criminal offenses and being illegally present in Israel). A full-scale trial involving evidence and proof took place in only 130 of these cases (1.42 percent). Relying on data received from the chief military prosecutor, Yesh Din states that fully 95 percent of all court cases in the territories conclude with a plea bargain. By comparison, in the areas covered by the Central District Prosecution and the Tel Aviv District Prosecution, fewer than half the cases ended in plea bargains last year.

The thousands of court cases in the territories are handled by about 40 prosecutors. Their number was recently increased - and it has doubled in comparison to the situation on the eve of the intifada, in September 2000 - but the number of cases meanwhile has multiplied tenfold. The Yesh Din report states that a combination of reasons pushes the parties in the territories to seek plea bargains. Among these are the interrogation methods of the Shin Bet (which include threats and, according to some who have undergone interrogation, also physical means) and the fact that the defendants are denied legal counsel for a relatively long period. These conditions induce many of the accused to confess or incriminate their friends. "The considerable case load in the courts brings all parties involved... to view plea bargains as the fast and efficient way to finish their work on a case," the report notes.

A former military prosecutor who served for many years in the territories says that the first bottleneck is not the courtroom but the Shin Bet's interrogations unit. The reason, surprisingly, is the over-efficiency of the IDF and the Shin Bet in arresting wanted individuals in the West Bank. Compared to the situation five years ago, Israel now has full intelligence and operational control. Very few wanted individuals try to resist arrest. The overwhelming majority, sometimes 15 or 20 in a single night, are rounded up from their homes without any special difficulty. But the Shin Bet detention facilities, though reinforced in terms of detention cells and interrogators in the past seven and a half years, still cannot accommodate them all. The Shin Bet interrogates about half of those who are arrested. It is a hard, exhaustive process that can last a month and produces, in most cases, a detailed confession, often accompanied by the incrimination of other suspects (hence the "rolling" investigation that leads to more arrests).

However, the other half of those taken into custody never encounter a Shin Bet interrogator. They are less interesting from the Shin Bet's point of view, and their interrogation is transferred to the police with a summation of the incriminating evidence against them. These detainees, whose interrogation lasts only a few hours, almost always deny the charges against them. The prosecutors, faced with a case that is not entirely solid (the more so because part of the intelligence information is not revealed in court, for fear of harming sources), and under heavy pressure to conclude the case and move on, prefer plea bargains. "There are quite a few cases in which I settled for a sentence of 10 years, even though in a lengthy trial we could have reached 15 years," a former prosecutor admits. "These are the constraints under which the system operates. I sleep well with that - and you can, too." A senior source in the Military Advocate General's Office says that, "The High Court of Justice rulings today recognize also the positive aspects of plea bargains. There is efficiency, a confession by the accused, who takes responsibility for his actions, and punishment handed down relatively close to the date of the offense. It is no longer something that is done in backrooms, as it once was. Clearly in a plea bargain we have to give something to the other side to reach a compromise. Our role is to ascertain that the price will be reasonable in relation to the case. As in every judicial system, we go to plea bargains in cases where the evidence is weak.

"We, too, are bothered by the fact that dangerous terrorists are liable to get off with a light sentence," the source continues. "That is the nightmare of every prosecutor and judge in the territories: that the thrower of the Molotov cocktail who was not convicted will come back to you in a few years as a murderer of Israelis. But you have to remember that there is also another side to this equation. The Palestinian defense counsel who appear in the courts have gone on strike, because they claim the courts are trying to enforce a level of punishment that is too rigorous. And despite the criticism of the Palestinians, there is a process of 'Israelization' under way in the courts in the territories. The judges are more critical, the procedures are more similar to those in Israeli courts. We do not follow the Guantanamo model [referring to the courts established by the Americans for terrorist suspects, in which the defendants' rights are severely abridged - A.H.], and that is perfectly fine."

Last update - 22:24 04/05/2008

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/980275.html

SHIT: Israel's New Terror Weapon Against Palestinians

Israel withholds fuel supplies, so electricity is cut off, and a sewage flood results. This is Israel's terror campaign trying to force Hamas to surrender, but the Palestinian people are the victims. READ THIS, IT'S HORRIBLE.

Following our Gaza Situation Report on the Sewage Crisis in the Gaza Strip:

http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/Gaza_Situation_Report_2008_April.pdf

Hebrew report attached

Please be informed of the following:

Sewage yesterday flooded the Ascoolah area of Zeitoun neighborhood near Gaza city.

From 7 am to noon yesterday (during 6 hours ) there was no power to operate the pumps and sewage first flooded the station and then burst manholes and seeped from the pumping station building into surrounding fields, reaching some houses. The sewage has mostly evaporated leaving sludge and some puddles. The area is full of flies.

According to an engineer, the pumping station can hold sewage for three hours before it floods the surrounding area. The longer the power cut, the more likely the sewage will reach nearby houses which are 20 metres away.

The flooding has damaged the machinery which separates solid waste from liquid waste and it cannot be repaired until spare parts are located. So far there has been no additional flooding today. There are three other pumping stations in Gaza City which have no overflow and no fuel to power generators but so far there has been no flooding.

Sewage is also being directed into two storm water lagoons in open areas in Sheik Redwan in Gaza City and at the centre of Jabalia camp.

According to WHO the main health risk is diarrhoea which is spread by flies which proliferate near sewage. This particularly affects young children and the elderly.

Water situation remains the same with 30 per cent receiving running water once a week, 40 per cent once every four days and 30 per cent once every other day.

Power cuts remain at three-four hours per day.

Fuel update The Gas Station Owner Association has emptied the tanks at Nahal Oz and are storing the fuel at seven locations in Gaza Strip. They say they will continue to take fuel from Nahal Oz but will not sell it to the public until Israel guarantees an adequate supply. A committee of the association will meet over the week end to decide what to do with the fuel they now have.

Cooking Gas, the association says they have received 290 tonnes of cooking gas (daily need 350 tonnes). The bulk has been distributed to bakeries and institutions and the rest is now being distributed to the public who are allowed to buy only 6kg per family. A standard canister is 12 kg.

Industrial Gas: 1,000,000 litres expected to be delivered today.

For more information please contact Judith Harel, OCHA harel@un.org, 054 6600528

Judith Harel

Communication and Media Analyst

Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs OCHAoPt

Jerusalem

Tel:02-582-9962 / 5853

Mobile: 0546-600528

Web-site: www.ochaopt.org

Jewish "Settlers" Attack US Envoy in Hebron

This is no surprise: after all, many "settlers" are from New York City.

U.S. envoy cuts short Hebron trip after clash with settlers

By Haaretz Service

The American bodyguards of a Bush administration envoy who was dispatched to the region to monitor the implementation of the road map engaged in a violent confrontation with right-wing Israelis who sought to disturb a visit to Hebron on Friday, Israel Radio reported.

One of the rightists is reported to have driven his jeep into the convoy accompanying General William Fraser. Subsequently, one of the vehicles in the convoy heavily collided with the jeep, according to Israel Radio.

A fracas ensued between the guards and the rightists before the Americans decided to cut the visit short, Israel Radio reported.

Last update - 18:22 02/05/2008

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/980193.html