World leaders see prisoner exchange as positive step

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says he is encouraged by an exchange of prisoners that took place between Israel and Lebanon’s Hizbullah on Wednesday. Ban said at a news conference in Berlin that he hoped it will be the beginning of many to come.
He praised the “leadership and initiative” of a UN-appointed mediator, Gerhard [...]

Half a Democracy - as a slideshow

Half a Democracy (created by “>Lawrence of Cyberia) is a 72-slide presentation on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and the prospects for peace and reconciliation based on a Two-State solution.
This slide show is not a history of the Arab-Israeli conflict, but a collection of evocative quotes and images that illustrate the reality of the Occupation and show [...]

Insanity and sanity (If you ever start feeling sorry for the Israelis)

If you ever start feeling sorry for the Israelis, read this article on Arnon Soffer, a geostrategist from the University of Haifa and head of research for the IDF’s National Defense College:

“Ruthie Blum: In our previous interview, you made many assertions about what could and should be expected to happen following the disengagement from Gaza. [...]

Jerusalem Dispossessed - everyday jewish colonialism & ethnic cleansing

Nof Zion - “a view of Zion - a private neighbourhood in Jerusalem.” American Jews buy holiday homes in a Palestinian neighbourhood. On privately owned Palestinian land. Creating a wedge of Israeli settlements deep inside Palestinian Occupied Territory that will prevent the Clinton Parameters from ever being realised. Another thorn in the side of peace.
Ref: [...]

Israel’s split psyche

Israel is falling apart, MK Avishay Braverman lamented at the Institute for National Security Studies’ annual State of the Nation conference. Our education system, once Israel’s pride, is in the dumps; public corruption is rampant; our universities are starving to death; and the income gap is almost as bad as Brazil’s.
Braverman’s lamentations reflect a [...]

‘Dutch Jimmy Carter’ accuses Israel of terrorism in new book

The emotion in Andreas Van Agt’s voice as he lambastes Israel’s behavior seems puzzling for a man of his status. It is especially intriguing when one is reminded that this blue-eyed professed idealist is an astute statesman who presided as the Dutch prime minister for five years, until 1982.
“My involvement in the Middle East [...]

Gaza truce ‘violated repeatedly’

A fragile eight-day-old truce between Israel and Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip appears to have been violated repeatedly by both sides.
A UN source says Israeli troops have opened fire on Palestinian farmers several times, causing injuries. Israel says its forces fired warning shots.
Palestinian militants have also broken the ceasefire, firing rockets and mortars into [...]

Israel and Hamas ceasefire begins

A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza has begun, despite a last-minute flurry of cross-border attacks. The truce is designed to halt Israeli incursions into the Gaza Strip, and to stop missiles being fired from Gaza into southern Israel. If it holds, Israel will ease its blockade on Gaza and there may be further [...]

Paramilitary police attack Al-Nakba march

It has been a week of adulation from world leaders, ostentatious displays of military prowess, and street parties. Heads of state have rubbed shoulders with celebrities to pay homage to the Jewish state on its 60th birthday, while a million Israelis reportedly headed off to the country’s forests to enjoy the national pastime: a barbecue.
But [...]

‘Jewish settler attack’ on film + Three Palestinian shepherds tell police: We were attacked by masked settlers in Hebron Hills

A Palestinian woman, 57, was badly injured and her husband and another relative were battered, in an assault by masked Israelis in the southern Hebron Hills yesterday. The police are investigating whether the Israeli attackers hailed from the West Bank settlement of Susia, as the injured Palestinians claim.

The three, Thamem al-Nawaja, 57, her husband [...]