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As the international community demands a complete halt in Israel’s settlement activities, Premier Benjamin Netanyahu claims his "one-time" and "temporary" settlement freeze shows Israel is after peace with the Palestinians.

Netanyahu last week announced that Israel had agreed to freeze all settlement activities, except in Jerusalem Al-Quds, for 10 months in a bid to re-launch stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

The move was not welcomed by the Palestinians and the international community alike as since it does not include east Jerusalem or 3,000 homes already under construction in the West Bank.

Under the 2002 Roadmap for Peace plan brokered by the United States, the European Union, the United Nations, and Russia, Israel has to "dismantle settlement outposts erected since 2001 and freeze all settlement activities."

The settlement freeze has also infuriated Jewish settlers as well as hard-line Israeli parliament members from Kadima party and Netanyahu’s own party, Likud.

Speaking to his Cabinet, Netanyahu said the temporary freeze "served the wider interests of Israel" and added, "The state of Israel wants peace in the clearest possible sense."

He also stressed that the freeze was a "one-time, temporary decision."

"This suspension is for its stated timeframe and not beyond. In the Cabinet decision, we made it clear that upon the conclusion of the period of suspension, construction will resume," Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu said he met with leaders of the settlements last week in an attempt to ease tensions which are expected to grow as the leaders have vowed to keep confronting security forces sent to enforce the edict.

In the latest wave of unrest on Sunday, the Israeli police dispersed 100 right-wing demonstrators, who blocked roads near the West Bank settlement of Kedumim to prevent inspectors from entering the community to search for unauthorized construction.

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Israeli troops have fired live ammunition on protestors near the West Bank village of Na’alin, leaving one Palestinian wounded.

About 150 demonstrators attended a weekly protest against the construction of the separation wall and the expansion of Israeli settlements.

Some of the protestors threw rocks at security forces, which fired back with riot control weapons and live ammunition.

The protestors condemn the confiscation of thousands of acres of Palestinian land for constructing 723 km (454 miles) of a barrier of steel and concrete walls, fences and barbed wires.

I thought they had complete control of Facebook and Twitter. Of course they’re notion of complete control comes from fighting terrorism for 60 + years in pumpkin patch like Gaza and still not being able to stop it.

The Israel Defense Forces Spokesman’s Office is to begin drafting computer experts with an eye toward establishing an Internet and new media department unit, Army Spokesman Brig. Gen. Avi Benayahu said Monday.

Speaking at the Eilat Journalists Conference, Benayahu said the new department would focus on the Internet’s social media networks mainly to reach an international audience directly rather than through the regular media.

The new unit, as well as an initiative by the Information and Diaspora Ministry to train people to represent Israel independently on the Internet and in other arenas, were presented Monday at the conference during a panel discussion on Israeli public relations abroad.

Responding to criticism of Israel’s ability to face hostile entities on the Web, Benayahu said the new program would be able to deal with the problem. He said that from each group drafted to the Army Spokesman’s Office, between eight to 10 young people who are experts in Web 2.0 – YouTube, Facebook and Twitter – to be identified before induction, would be assigned to the new department. The new recruits would be put to work in the new media unit after undergoing a general Army Spokesman’s Unit training course.

Benayahu told Haaretz the new program would be up and running in a few months.

The Army Spokesman’s Office began working in this area more than a year ago. During Operation Cast Lead it put up YouTube videos of attacks on targets in the Gaza Strip, to illustrate the care the IDF takes to avoid hitting civilians. One such clip showed how the pilot of an IDF helicopter diverted a missile that had been fired at a target when it was realized civilians had entered the target area.

The head of communications at the Army Spokesman’s office, Col. Ofer Kol, said they wanted to reach "mainly an international audience that is less exposed to operational processes. Foreign media do more ‘zooming-in’ and so it’s important to us to show the totality of IDF actions without a filter."

The IDF YouTube account got millions of hits during Operation Cast Lead, which led to the decision to expand activity at the site and other social network Web sites. The IDF hopes to show other sides of the army less familiar to the world, such as women’s service.

The Spokesman’s Office has also contacted bloggers who are known as opinion-makers and sent them information and pictures directly.

Blogger: Page not found

JERUSALEM – Israeli aircraft attacked two suspected weapons-making factories and a smuggling tunnel in the Gaza Strip early Sunday in what the military said was retaliation for Palestinian rocket fire into southern Israel.

The airstrikes, which wounded at least seven people — including one seriously — came despite an announcement by Gaza‘s Hamas rulers that the territory’s military factions had all agreed to stop firing rockets. The Hamas announcement came late Saturday, after the rocket attack.

Hamas’ interior minister, Fathi Hamad, said the proclaimed halt in rocket fire was designed to prevent Israeli retaliation and provide stability for Gaza, which continues to suffer from the aftermath of a massive Israeli military offensive in December and January.

The offensive killed some 1,400 Palestinians, according to U.N. and Palestinian estimates, and damaged or destroyed thousands of homes. Thirteen Israelis also were killed. Most of the damage in Gaza has not been repaired due to an Israeli blockade that has prevented construction materials from entering the territory.

Israel said it launched the offensive to crush Palestinian rocket squads, who had severely disrupted life in southern Israel for years. While Hamas has all but halted its own rocket fire, smaller militant groups have continued to launch attacks, though the number of attacks has decreased dramatically.

On Sunday, Islamic Jihad, a smaller faction responsible for much of the rocket fire, said there is "no formal truce," but confirmed it would temporarily stop its attacks.

"Yes, there is a halt, but if there are attacks by the Zionist enemies, as there inevitably will be, there will be a response," said Khader Habib, a spokesman for the group.

An end to Palestinian rocket attacks could be an important step toward a broader prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hamas. The Iranian-backed Hamas is demanding the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchanged for Sgt. Gilad Schalit, who was captured by Hamas-allied militants more than three years ago.

Usama Mazeini, a Hamas official involved in the German-brokered negotiations over Schalit, told Hamas newsletter al-Risala on Saturday that the talks are close to resolving the "obstacles" that remain.

He gave no further details, but the publication quoted anonymous Hamas officials as saying a deal is "reaching completion."

Later Sunday, Israel’s army chief, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, said he was "sober" about the prospects for a deal but said media reports about the matter threatened progress.

"We have a deep commitment … to bring him home, but I prefer to leave this effort behind the scenes."

Israeli aircraft strike Gaza targets – Yahoo! News

Israeli Aircraft Strike Gaza Targets – NYTimes.com

Goldstone authored the recent United Nations Human Rights Commission’s investigative report that charged Israel with war crimes in the three-week Operation Cast Lead counterterrorist campaign that concluded last January.

The judge said in his opening speech that it was a given that Israel had the right to defend itself, that "Israel was fully justified in using military force," but that his committee had been "concerned about the manner in which the military force was used, and whether it was consistent with international law."

He prefaced his remarks by noting that Israel is a democracy and that its citizens are committed to preserving human rights, adding that ”sadly, the same cannot be said of Gaza.”

Although the report is likely to be used as evidence against Israel in any war crimes trial at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Goldstone said "We did not apply a criminal law standard of ‘guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.’ The findings that we made for the purpose of any future proceedings would have to be investigated afresh — this is why we called for independent investigations in both Israel and Gaza."

The South African judge said from the outset that he refused to accept the original Human Rights Commission mandate, which he said was one-sided against Israel. He added that he accepted his position of heading the investigating commission after it accepted his changes that both Israel and Hamas would be investigated for alleged war crimes.

Goldstone claimed that 25,000 to 40,000 homes were partially to completely destroyed during Operation Cast Lead, and more than 200 factories were put out of action. The region’s only flour-producing factory was put out of action, he said, and most egg factories were disabled as well. Water supplies, water treatment plants and sanitation plants were bombed, he claimed, adding that agricultural farms were bulldozed, "many, many square miles."

Goldstone also stated that unemployment in Gaza currently stands at more than 60 percent, and that 90 percent of the people in Gaza live on less than one dollar per day.

In justifying the accusations against Israel listed in his report, Goldstone said, "We relied primarily on what we were told, what we heard with out own ears, and what we saw with our own eyes." Moreover, he lamented, "If you regard people as equal human beings, you don’t treat them that way. You don’t fire rockets at them, and you don’t bulldoze their land."

The United States has criticized the report as being biased, and most Israeli leaders from across the entire political spectrum have rejected the accusations.

The debate is the first time Goldstone has confronted a senior Israeli figure. Dore Gold is the president of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. Goldstone began the debate and Gold is responding to him, followed by questions from the audience.

The move, revealed by a government source on Monday, comes in response to the UN’s Goldstone report, which was sharply critical of Israel’s conduct during the war.

Israel has been under pressure to set up an independent investigation into war-crimes allegations raised by the report, conducted by Richard Goldstone, a South African jurist.

The source, a government aide, was quoted by the Reuters news agency as saying that Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, and Ehud Barak, the defence minister, "hope this move [the reviews] will put the issue to rest".

"The idea is to set up a team to double-check the findings, to ensure there was no whitewash or lack of professionalism," the source said, adding that Netanyahu’s and Barak’s initiative was awaiting cabinet approval next week.

Asked why the government resisted the idea of an independent investigation, the source said: "Netanyahu is afraid of having his hands tied if further action is required in Gaza."

A Netanyahu spokesman declined to comment.

‘Laws of war’

Barak’s office did not immediately confirm the review initiative, but made clear it considered Israel’s Gaza veterans off limit to further investigations.

In depth

Video: Anger at Abbas
Video: Interview with Richard Goldstone
Timeline: Gaza War
Analysis: War crimes in Gaza?
Goldstone’s full report to the UN rights council
Key points of the Goldstone report
UN inquiry finds Gaza war crimes
‘Half of Gaza war dead civilians’
PLO: History of a Revolution
‘Israel has to be accountable’
Al Jazeera is not responsible for external websites’ content

"Defence Minister Ehud Barak reiterates and clarifies that no investigative commission will be set up … that will investigate an Israel Defence Force soldier or officer," it said in a statement.

"The State of Israel intends to struggle against the legitimacy of the the Goldstone report. In addition, Israel will take action so that the laws of war are amended to bring them into line with the struggle against terrorists who operate among civilians."

The Goldstone report, which criticised both Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas for war crimes, was far more critical of Israeli forces for "targeting and terrorising civilians" during the three-week offensive between last December and January.

It gave both sides six months to mount credible investigations or face possible prosecution at The Hague.

Israel refused to co-operate with Goldstone’s fact-finding mission, accusing it of bias.

Goldstone has said he would have confidence in an independent Israeli investigation. Such panels have, in the past, prompted high-level political resignations and reshuffles.

Goldstone report

During Israel’s offensive against Gaza, more than 1,400 Palestinians were killed, according to Palestinian officials and human rights groups, including at least 900 civilians.

The toll on the Israeli side was 13, most of whom were soldiers.

According to the Israeli government, they had "both a right and an obligation to take military action … to stop Hamas’s almost incessant rocket and mortar attacks" that caused injuries to residents and damage to property in Israeli towns.

But the Goldstone report, which was adopted in October by the UN Human Rights Council, challenged this account, claiming that while "the Israeli Government [has] sought to portray its operations as essentially a response to rocket attacks", it was "directed, at least in part, at a different target: the people of Gaza as a whole".

The Goldstone report claims that the UN investigation found this "overall policy [of the Israeli government] aimed at punishing the Gaza population" was one "firmly based in fact".

It concluded that Israel used disproportionate force, deliberately targeted civilians, used Palestinians as human shields and destroyed civilian infrastructure.

Israel is sharply increasing its military build-up at its bases near the border with Lebanon while putting Israeli troops on alert.

Israel has increased its military patrols near the border with Lebanon, including the Golan Heights, IRNA reported on Saturday.

The Israeli forces held military exercises on Saturday in the region and in most of the southern parts of Lebanon explosions due to the exercises could be heard.

Over the past week, Israeli forces have repeatedly violated Lebanon’s air space, land and sea territories.

This is while the Lebanese army has taken necessary precautions to confront any Israeli aggression.

Asaf Gefen

Former members of the Israeli government speak out against an IAEA-proposed draft initiative to provide nuclear fuel for an Iranian research reactor.

Israel’s Kadima Party leader Tzipi Livni, discontent with what she claims to be a lack of world action against Iran, warned that the draft deal "will blow up in our face and in the face of the international community."

"Iran should know that all options are on the table," the former Israeli foreign minister told Army Radio on Friday.

"The world understands that it cannot afford a nuclear Iran, but to my regret there is a gap between this understanding and actions on the ground," she added.

IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei, on Wednesday, sent a draft nuclear agreement to the governments of Iran, Russia, the United States and France.

The proposal requires Iran to export its low-enriched uranium to Russia for further refinement, then onto France for fabrication into fuel assemblies that can be used in the Tehran research reactor.

The Tehran research reactor, which supplies medical isotopes for treating cancer to more than 200 hospitals in Iran, requires uranium enriched up to 20 percent.

Iranian officials say they prefer to buy nuclear fuel for the research reactor under the supervision of the UN nuclear watchdog rather than ship uranium abroad.

Iran’s envoy to the UN nuclear watchdog, Ali-Asghar Soltaniyeh, said Friday that the country would nevertheless respond to the offer next week.

Former Israeli defense minister Shaul Mofaz, meanwhile, dismissed the draft proposal as "a worthless piece of paper."

Mofaz directed much of his criticism on ElBaradei, calling him "a serial cover-upper, an ostrich with its head in the sand," who wanted to show the world he had solved the Iranian problem before the end of his term.

The former Israeli army chief of staff argued that any agreement should include "an absolute halt to uranium enrichment on Iranian soil, and full and comprehensive supervision of all its nuclear facilities."

Tel Aviv, which reportedly has an arsenal of 200 nuclear warheads at its disposal, views Tehran’s nuclear program as a “mortal threat.” Israeli leaders have repeatedly threatened to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities out of existence.

This is while, the Islamic Republic, since its establishment in 1979, has gone to war only once, and only to defend itself against an assault initiated by Iraq, whereas Israel has invaded Lebanon twice, bombed Syria and Iraq, and regularly bombed and attacked Gaza and other Palestinian areas at will.

The Israeli regime has also masterminded a wave of undercover operations and terror plots in numerous countries, including Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, Iran, Switzerland, and the US.

Olmert has faced protests at Tulane University, University of Kentucky and the University of Chicago.

The recent International Independent Fact-Finding Mission, headed by Judge Richard Goldstone, found evidence that Israel had committed war crimes and crimes against humanity during a three-week long attack on the Gaza Strip last winter, killing more than 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and destroying much of the area’s infrastructure.

In 2006, similar Israeli attacks on Lebanon killed 1,200 people. Olmert has refused to be held accountable.

www.uruknet.info :: informazione dal medio oriente :: information from middle east :: [vs-1]

Tel Aviv is moving towards gradual closure of the fuel terminal at the Nahal Oz crossing along the border with the Gaza Strip which has long been under a tight Israeli siege.

"The decision… was Israel’s, and it’s ultimately up to the occupation, whether or not Palestinians object. Israeli authorities were already transferring equipment that pumps fuel to the Kerem Shalom crossing in preparation for the shutting down of Nahal Oz," the Gaza crossings representative, Raed Fattouh, was quoted as saying by Ma’an news agency.

The decision to decommission the Nahal Oz crossing terminal had been taken several months earlier, but announced on Thursday after Israel announced it planned to transfer Nahal’s responsibilities to the Kerem Shalom crossing.

The closure of the Nahal Oz fuel terminal will violate previously signed economic agreements between Israel and the Palestinians.

According to agreements reached between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel, Palestinians were guaranteed a role in operating the Nahal Oz crossing, but not Kerem Shalom, since it is on Israeli territory.

Palestinian officials warn that the fuel terminal at the Nahal Oz crossing between Israel and Gaza will be non-operational by November 1, 2009.

The US envoy to the UN has taken sides with Israel against a UN report concluding that Israeli troops committed war crimes in the Gaza Strip during its recent offensive.

"Member states must once and for all replace anti-Israeli vitriol with recognition of Israel’s legitimacy and right to exist in peace and security," said Ambassador Susan Rice in a conference in Jerusalem (al-Quds) on Wednesday.

"We will stand by our friends on the frontlines and we will uphold the inalienable right to self-defense," Rice added.

She made the remarks as the UN General Assembly is expected to discuss the report prepared by former South African judge, Richard Goldstone, by the end of the year after it was endorsed by the Human Rights Council.

The report by a team of experts led by Goldstone, said Israel used disproportionate force and failed to protect civilians during its December 27 – January 18 offensive against the Palestinians in Gaza.

Israeli President Shimon Peres, however, condemned the report on Wednesday, saying "It is outrageous that a respected institution like the United Nations provides a platform to spread lies and stories about Israel."

Tue, 20 Oct 2009

The Israeli war minister advocates operational latitude for its army amid mounting condemnation of the Zionist regime’s massacre of the Palestinians.

"We must give the IDF (Israeli army) the full backing to have the freedom of action," Ehud Barak said on Tuesday, AFP reports.

He claimed that the carte blanche was "in the interest of anyone fighting terrorism," repeating the Israeli accusations against the Palestinian resistance movements.

Under a similar plea, the IDF launched a full-scale aerial and artillery bombardment of the Gaza Strip last winter, leaving more than 1,400 Palestinians dead and thousands of others injured.

The UN Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) on Friday endorsed a report which held the Israeli army responsible for deliberately killing Palestinian civilians and committing other war crimes during the offensive.

The adoption of the report and fears that any follow-up action may result in the arraignment of Israeli leaders and war commanders, prompted impassioned reactions from Tel Aviv. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted that we will not agree to a situation in which" those who authorized the war "will be called to the defendants’ benches at The Hague."

Also on Tuesday, Netanyahu "instructed the relevant government bodies to examine a worldwide campaign to amend the international laws of war to adapt them to the spread of global terrorism."

By making such irresponsible comments, the officials of the Zionist state appear to be declaring a world war on whoever challenges their persistent war crimes and atrocities against the Palestinians, especially in the besieged Gaza.

Judge Goldstone said there was no peace process at present and Israel’s foreign minister did not want there to be one.

The Goldstone report, which has been endorsed by the UN Human Rights Council, accuses both Israel and Hamas militants of committing war crimes.

Mr Goldstone’s remarks came in a conference call with American rabbis.

"It’s a shallow, utterly false allegation," Mr Goldstone said of Israel’s attempt to brand his report as an obstacle to peace.

"What peace process are they talking about? There isn’t one. The Israeli foreign minister doesn’t want one," Mr Goldstone said.

"If the Israeli government set up an appropriate, open investigation, it will really be the end of the matter. That’s where the report would end as far as Israel is concerned," he added.

He was speaking days after Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman spoke of his belief that the Arab-Israeli conflict would not be resolved in the coming years, and people should "learn to live with it".

Palestinians and human rights groups say more than 1,400 Gazans were killed in the 22-day conflict that ended in January, but Israel puts the figure at 1,166. Thirteen Israelis, including three civilians, were killed.

In the report, Mr Goldstone calls for the war crimes allegations to be referred to the International Criminal Court at The Hague unless the parties to the Gaza war investigate them.

If the report comes before the UN Security Council, the US is expected to veto any call for ICC action against Israel.

Favourable

On Tuesday, Israel’s Security Cabinet hardened the country’s rejection of an independent inquiry.

Earlier reports said discussion about setting up an inquiry had been on the agenda of the meeting, which brings together seven ministers with security responsibilities.

However, an official said it was blocked by Defence Minister Ehud Barak, an architect of Israel’s winter onslaught, supported by Benjamin Netanyahu, who was elected prime minister in March.

Both men have called the UN report one-sided and said it undermined Israel’s right to defend itself. They argue internal investigations by the Israeli military are already dealing with a small number of violations.

"Our struggle is to delegitimize the continuing attempt to delegitimize the state of Israel. The most important sphere we need to work in is the sphere of public opinion in the democratic world," Mr Netanyahu was quoted telling the cabinet.

Foreign and justice ministry officials are reported to favour setting up an investigation in the hope of defusing an international row which is widely seen to have done damage to Israel’s reputation.

The prospect that Israeli officials could face war crimes trials abroad led the political-security cabinet on Tuesday to form a committee to deal with the international legal consequences of the Goldstone Commission’s report on the Gaza war.

But the dilemma here is with the games of the interests within the international community and the games of "working on both sides of some countries for some political gains. I don’t want here to question the long experience of the international law and community, but the instincts convince me that the truth can’t be veiled by the false allegations of both the USA and Israel and their spoiling attempt to postpone the report.

The false allegations/staements are made by the speech of US deputy ambassador Alejandro Wolff: " Israel has the institutions to seriously investigate the allegations " this is the first lie;(because they did not do anyting about it) the second one said: -" the report and "the allegations of human rights and humanitarian law violations … are not a matter for Security Council action"(then where does the matter belong?).

The shining truth is there are many Israeli assemblies and human rights institution in Israel such as Betseleem and the breaking the silence (an institution over the soldiers involvement in the crimes against the Palestinian in the so-called "Operation Cast Lead" are being prevented from investigating in these human rights issues.

Many of the incidents covered in the report will be familiar to those who followed the December/January Gaza War. It examines, for example, the attacks on hospitals and mosques, and the widely reported killings of Gaza civilians. The Report also looks at incidents that are not so well known, several of which are covered in a section titled "Attacks on the Foundation of Civilian Life in Gaza: Destruction of Industrial Infrastructure, Food Production, Water Installations, Sewage Treatment, and Housing." These include: the total destruction of the Al-Bader Flour Mill, the bulldozing and "systematic flattening" of the Sawafaery Chicken Farm (killing all 31,000 chickens), and the bombing of the raw sewage lagoons of the Gaza Water Sewage Treatment Plant causing 200,000 cubic meters of raw sewage to contaminate neighboring farmlands. These, the Report concludes, were not military targets, and were instead evidence of, "unlawful and wanton destruction, not justified by military necessity" and, hence, a war crimes.

Goldstone is not a liar, the truth in Gaza is so clear, the people in Gaza also suffered other repercussions ,. for example: the psychological trauma of the pupils in the schools; and the frustration wrapped ,among the youth, to await the international justice of their life-he talked on the physical killing of the youth in Gaza but -did not refer to the psychological impact of the war on the youth . in one of the smallest area in the world.

We can say he is so right again when he says that: the Palestinians need a psychological committee to investigate on the impacts of the war on the youth, the kids and even the elderly. The committee must be responsible for outlining and identifying the rates of the psychological trauma and the long-term effects.

My professor in the university taught me- that in God we trust, (looks like other factors could also help the Gazaan’s Plight-which maybe has?)- and can we count accountability and justice?and bring it to the table to justify our "cruel actions? Israel had a chance to say that the report is distorted- how can one give weight to the psychological impact of the war on its children:The Israelis should be held liable for lying to the whole world about the atrocities committed by them for a long while.

We need more "Gold stones" in Gaza to throw on the Israeli hostile troops (the bad stones )-and on the Palestinian- fair cause, the gold stones. toward achieving their usurped rights in the international community.