Posted by: Sammi Ibrahem Chair of West Midland PSC
Dear All,
Libya is on my mind tonight. I watched a fair portion of Gaddafi’s speech (if that is what you can term it) tonight, and could not help coming to the sad conclusion that the man is absolutely mad—I mean crazy, and desperate. Libyans are paying with their lives for his desperation and refusal to let go, and who knows how many more will die? So sad. Below. one item (5) is on Gaddafi’s speech, reports on events in Libya, and reactions to these.
Altogether there are 6 items tonight—actually, the final one,
consists of various items taken from the ‘Today in Palestine’ compilation, so there are more than 6 items at your disposal to read.
Item 1 is about the PHR (Physicians for Human Rights) visit to Gaza. I hope to have a more detailed report on that in a day or two, but for now this will have to do.
Item 2 is Susan Rice’s UN voting record. To be truthful, it’s not her voting record but that of her boss (Obama) for whom she is but a spokesperson.
Item 3 ‘Addicted to Thieving’ argues that the off shore natural gas fields that Israel wants to claim for its own really do not belong to Israel at all.
Item 4 reports an attempted Citizen’s Arrest of Avigdor Lieberman. The arrest did not occur, but it did make the media. In Israel, for instance, the event was shown on the TV news tonight on at least 2 channels.
Item 5 is the Washington Post’s report on Gaddafi and Libya.
Item 6 are reports (not all but most) from Today in Palestine.
All the best, dear friends, and may no more Libyans lose their lives in attacks on them.
Dorothy
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1. forwarded by Ruth H.]
From: Gila [mailto:gila@phr.org.il]
Sent: יום ו 18 פברואר 2011 11:50
Subject: PHR-Israel entered Gaza today after an 18-month ban
Apologies to those who may have already received this via our server, I
wanted to make sure to send this out personally to old friends and new.
Please help spread the message by circulating to your colleagues and
friends. Warm regards and thanks, Gila.
—
On behalf of PHR-Israel, I’m excited to report that for the first time in
over 18 months, Physicians for Human Rights-Israel has received clearance to enter Gaza to provide medical services. PHR-Israel’s medical delegation will spend the next 48 hours at Al Shifa’ Hospital in Gaza City seeing patients, training physicians, and expressing solidarity with our Palestinian
counterparts living under nearly four years of closure and ongoing movement and access restrictions.
PHR-Israel’s Mobile Clinics Coordinator Salah Haj Yihyeh organized the visit just last night upon receiving official permission from the Army’s
coordination office. Joining him are three senior physicians, Dr. Mustafa
Yassin, Orthopedist, Dr. Abdallah Burak, and Rafiq Masalha, both
Neurologists.
Despite monthly requests for over a year, PHR-Israel has been repeatedly
banned from carrying out its mobile clinic in the the Gaza Strip. Between
January 2008- June 2009, PHR-Israel was permitted to enter and successfully carried out 13 physician delegations during that time. Our professional cooperation on the eve of the December 2008 Israeli offensive led senior medical officials in Gaza to turn to us for help in obtaining medications and medical supplies needed to care for the injured during the attacks. In response, PHR-Israel released an appeal for donations to which hundreds of our Israeli and international friends generously responded, enabling us to send seven dispatches of medications and supplies, including intensive care unit beds, surgical equipment, rods for orthopedic procedures and other emergency surgical equipment totaling nearly 400,000 USD. Following Operation Cast Lead, PHR’s requests for medical delegations to enter Gaza were summarily rejected, we believe due to the ongoing targeting of the human rights community and our work.
We hope this visit to Gaza signals a new moment and that the presence of our doctors in Gaza will enable us to better understand the effects of the
ongoing closure on public health and secure livelihoods in the Strip. We
hope as well that the medical information and professional observations
released by Israeli physicians following this visit will influence the local
public and policy makers to question the State’s Gaza policy, a policy which condemns 1.5 million people to the confines of daily collective punishment.
Please consider making a donation to PHR-Israel once again. Your continued support enables us to seize opportunities like these to advance the right to health in Israel and Occupied Territory. For information on new ways to donate to PHR-Israel (including via credit card, through paypal), please visit our website www.phr.org.il.
Looking forward to being in touch soon with news from the visit,
On Friday, February 18, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution which, upon condemning Israel’s settlements in Palestinian territory, had the unanimous support of the 14 other Security Council members and over one hundred state sponsors. Although Rice’s veto in this instance was certainly outrageous, she is no stranger to voting contrary to U.S. obligations under international law, in support of Israel’s violations of Palestinian rights, and against the clear consensus of U.N. member states, since, as U.S. ambassador, she (or her office) has consistently voted against huge majorities in the U.N. General Assembly seeking to reaffirm Palestinian rights.
In December 2009, the U.N. General Assembly passed 18 resolutions on “The Question of Palestine” which, among other things: reaffirmed the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people over their natural resources, including land and water; reaffirmed the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and their independent State of Palestine; reaffirmed that the Fourth Geneva Convention is applicable to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem; and reaffirmed that Israel’s settlements in Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, are illegal and an obstacle to peace and economic and social development. The United States under President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Ambassador Rice, voted against each of these resolutions. Overall, Obama, Clinton, and Rice, by voting with Israel, voted against 16 of 18 General Assembly resolutions in 2009, which were otherwise approved by an overwhelming majority of U.N. member states. (The U.S. abstained on two of the 18 resolutions in 2009.)
Likewise, in 2010, the General Assembly passed 16 resolutions concerning The Question of Palestine, including those reaffirming Palestinian sovereignty over their own natural resources, the right of Palestinian self-determination to an independent state, the applicability of the Fourth Geneva Convention to Israel’s occupation, and the illegality of Israel’s settlements under the Fourth Geneva Convention. As in 2009, Obama, Clinton, and Rice voted against these resolutions, and overall voted against 14 of 16 General Assembly resolutions on Palestine in 2010, all of which passed with a huge majority of votes. (The U.S. abstained on two of the 16 resolutions in 2010.)
Thus, Rice and her bosses, Obama and Clinton, have supported not a single General Assembly resolution on The Question of Palestine, and voted with Israel on 30 of the 34 resolutions over the two-year period. Israel—the close U.S. voting partner—was the only U.N. member state to reject all 34 such General Assembly resolutions in 2009 and 2010, the record of which appears below. Given this sweeping and near total denial of Palestinian right under international law, it is hardly credible that the United States under President Obama (like previous presidents with similar U.N. voting records) would serve as an impartial mediator of the Israel-Palestine “peace process.”
2009
A/Res/64/185, December 21, 2009: On reaffirming the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and the population of the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources, including land and water:
Vote: 165 to 8 (with seven abstentions). The eight votes in opposition: U.S., Israel, Australia, Canada, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau.
A/Res/64/150, December 18, 2009: On reaffirming the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including the right to their independent State of Palestine:
Vote: 176 to 6 (with three abstentions). The six votes in opposition: U.S., Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau.
A/Res/64/87, December 10, 2009: On calling upon all donors to continue to make the most generous efforts possible to meet the anticipated needs of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA):
Vote: 168 to 1 (with seven abstentions). The vote in opposition: Israel (U.S. abstained).
A/Res/64/88, December 10, 2009: On reaffirming the right of all persons displaced as a result of the June 1967 and subsequent hostilities to return to their homes or former places of residence in the territories occupied by Israel since 1967:
Vote: 166 to 7 (with four abstentions). The seven votes in opposition: U.S., Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Panama.
A/Res/64/89, December 10, 2009: On reaffirming that the effective functioning of UNRWA remains essential in all fields of operation:
Vote: 167 to 6 (with four abstentions). The six votes in opposition: U.S., Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau.
A/Res/64/90, December 10, 2009: On reaffirming that the Palestine refugees are entitled to their property and to the income derived therefrom, in conformity with the principles of equity and justice:
Vote: 168 to 6 (with three abstentions). The six votes in opposition: U.S., Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau.
A/Res/64/91, December 10, 2009: On deploring those policies and practices of Israel that violate the human rights of the Palestinian people and other Arabs of the occupied territories:
Vote: 92 to 9 (with 74 abstentions). The nine votes in opposition: U.S., Israel, Australia, Canada, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Panama.
A/Res/64/92, December 10, 2009: On reaffirming that the Fourth Geneva Convention is applicable to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and other Arab territories occupied by Israel since 1967:
Vote: 168 to 6 (with four abstentions). The six votes in opposition: U.S., Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau.
A/Res/64/93, December 10, 2009: On reaffirming that the Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan are illegal and an obstacle to peace and economic and social development:
Vote: 167 to 7 (with three abstentions). The seven votes in opposition: U.S., Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Panama.
A/Res/64/94, December 10, 2009: On reiterating that all measures and actions taken by Israel, the occupying Power, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, in violation of the relevant provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention and contrary to the relevant resolutions of the Security Council, are illegal and have no validity:
Vote: 162 to 9 (with five abstentions). The nine votes in opposition: U.S., Israel, Australia, Canada, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Panama.
A/Res/64/95, December 10, 2009: On calling upon Israel, the occupying Power, to comply with the relevant resolutions on the occupied Syrian Golan, in particular Security Council resolution 497 (1981), in which the Council, inter alia, decided that the Israeli decision to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the occupied Syrian Golan was null and void and without international legal effect and demanded that Israel, the occupying Power, rescind forthwith its decision:
Vote: 166 to 1 (with eleven abstentions). The vote in opposition: Israel (U.S. abstaining).
A/Res/64/16, December 2, 2009: On expressing its appreciation to the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People for its efforts in performing the tasks assigned to it by the General Assembly, and takes note of its annual report, including the conclusions and valuable recommendations contained in chapter VII thereof:
Vote: 109 to 8 (with 55 abstentions). The eight votes in oppositions: U.S., Israel, Australia, Canada, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau.
A/Res/64/17, December 2, 2009: On noting appreciation for the Division for Palestinian Rights of the General Secretariat and the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People:
Vote: 112 to 9 (with 54 abstentions). The nine votes in opposition: U.S., Israel, Australia, Canada, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau.
A/Res/64/18, December 2, 2009: About the Special Information Program on the Question of Palestine of the Department of Public Information of the General Secretariat:
Vote: 162 to 8 (with five abstentions). The eight votes in opposition: U.S., Israel, Australia, Canada, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau.
A/Res/64/19, December 2, 2009: On reaffirming the necessity of achieving a peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine, the core of the Arab-Israeli conflict, in all its aspects, and of intensifying all efforts towards that end:
Vote: 164 to 7 (with four abstentions). The seven votes in opposition: U.S., Israel, Australia, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau.
A/Res/64/20, December 2, 2009: On reiterating its determination that any actions taken by Israel, the occupying Power, to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the Holy City of Jerusalem are illegal and therefore null and void and have no validity whatsoever, and calls upon Israel to immediately cease all such illegal and unilateral measures:
Vote: 163 to 7 (with five abstentions). The seven votes in opposition: U.S., Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Panama.
A/Res/64/21, December 2, 2009: On declaring that the Israeli decision of 14 December 1981 to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the occupied Syrian Golan is null and void and has no validity whatsoever, as confirmed by the Security Council in resolution 497 (1981), and calls upon Israel to rescind it:
Vote: 116 to 7 (with 51 abstentions). The seven votes in opposition: U.S., Israel, Canada, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau.
A/Res/64/10, November 5, 2009: On requesting the Secretary-General to transmit the report of the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict (the Goldstone Report) to the Security Council:
Vote: 114 to 18 (with 44 abstentions). The eighteen votes in opposition: U.S., Israel, Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Netherlands, Palau, Panama, Poland, Slovakia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Ukraine.
2010
A/Res/65/100, December 10, 2010: On reaffirming that the effective functioning of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) remains essential in all fields of operation:
Vote: 169 to 6 (with two abstentions). The six votes in opposition: U.S., Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau.
A/Res/65/101, December 10, 2010: On reaffirming that the Palestine refugees are entitled to their property and to the income derived there from, in conformity with the principles of equity and justice:
Vote: 169 to 6 (with two abstentions). The six votes in opposition: U.S., Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau.
A/Res/65/102, December 10, 2010: On deploring those policies and practices of Israel that violate the human rights of the Palestinian people and other Arabs of the occupied territories, as reflected in the report of the Special Committee covering the reporting period:
Vote: 94 to 9 (with seventy-two abstentions). The nine votes in opposition: U.S., Israel, Australia, Canada, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Panama.
A/Res/65/103, December 10, 2010: On reaffirming that the Fourth Geneva Convention is applicable to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and other Arab territories occupied by Israel since 1967:
Vote: 169 to 6 (with two abstentions). The six votes in opposition: U.S., Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau.
A/Res/65/104, December 10, 2010: On reaffirming that the Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan are illegal and an obstacle to peace and economic and social development:
Vote: 169 to 6 (with three abstentions). The six votes in opposition: U.S., Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau.
A/Res/65/105, December 10, 2010: On reiterating that all measures and actions taken by Israel, the occupying Power, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, in violation of the relevant provisions of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949,8 and contrary to the relevant resolutions of the Security Council, are illegal and have no validity:
Vote: 165 to 9 (with two abstentions). The nine votes in opposition: U.S., Israel, Australia, Canada, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Panama.
A/Res/65/106, December 10, 2010: On calling upon Israel, the occupying Power, to comply with the relevant resolutions on the occupied Syrian Golan, in particular Security Council resolution 497 (1981), in which the Council, inter alia, decided that the Israeli decision to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the occupied Syrian Golan was null and void and without international legal effect and demanded that Israel, the occupying Power, rescind forthwith its decision:
Vote: 167 to 1 (with nine abstentions). The vote in opposition: Israel (U.S. abstained).
A/Res/65/98, December 10, 2010: On calling upon all donors to continue to make the most generous efforts possible to meet the anticipated needs of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, including with regard to increased expenditures arising from the serious socio-economic and humanitarian situation in the region, particularly in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and those mentioned in recent emergency appeals:
Vote: 169 to 1 (with six abstentions). The vote in opposition: Israel (U.S. abstained).
A/Res/65/99, December 10, 2010: On reaffirming the right of all persons displaced as a result of the June 1967 and subsequent hostilities to return to their homes or former places of residence in the territories occupied by Israel since 1967:
Vote: 167 to 6 (with four abstentions). The six votes in opposition: U.S., Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau.
A/Res/65/13, November 30, 2010: On expressing its appreciation to the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People for its efforts in performing the tasks assigned to it by the General Assembly, and takes note of its annual report:
Vote: 112 to 9 (with 54 abstentions). The nine votes in opposition: U.S., Israel, Australia, Canada, Japan, Marshall islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau.
A/Res/65/14, November 30, 2010: On noting appreciation for the Division for Palestinian Rights of the General Secretariat and the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People:
Vote: 110 to 9 (with 56 abstentions). The nine votes in opposition: U.S., Israel, Australia, Canada, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau.
A/Res/65/15, November 30, 2010: About the Special Information Program on the Question of Palestine of the Department of Public Information of the General Secretariat:
Vote: 167 to 8 (with two abstentions). The eight votes in opposition: U.S., Israel, Australia, Canada, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau.
A/Res/65/16, November 30, 2010: On reaffirming the necessity of achieving a peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine, the core of the Arab-Israeli conflict, in all its aspects, and of intensifying all efforts towards that end:
Vote: 165 to 7 (with four abstentions). The seven votes in opposition: U.S., Israel, Australia, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau.
A/Res/65/17, November 30, 2010: On reiterating its determination that any actions taken by Israel, the occupying Power, to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the Holy City of Jerusalem are illegal and therefore null and void and have no validity whatsoever, and calls upon Israel to immediately cease all such illegal and unilateral measures:
Vote: 166 to 6 (with four abstentions). The six votes in opposition: U.S., Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau.
A/Res/65/18, November 30, 2010: On declaring that the Israeli decision of 14 December 1981 to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the occupied Syrian Golan is null and void and has no validity whatsoever, as confirmed by the Security Council in its resolution 497 (1981), and calls upon Israel to rescind it:
Vote: 118 to 7 (with 52 abstentions). The seven votes in opposition: U.S., Israel, Canada, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau.
A/Res/64/254, February 26, 2010: On reiterating its call upon the government of Israel to conduct investigations that are independent, credible and in conformity with international standards into the serious violations of international humanitarian and international human rights law reported by the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict (the Goldstone Report), towards ensuring accountability and justice; and reiterating its urging for the conduct by the Palestinian side of investigations that are independent, credible and in conformity with international standards into the serious violations of international humanitarian and international human rights law reported by the Fact-Finding Mission, towards ensuring accountability and justice:
Vote: 98 to 7 (with 31 abstentions). The seven votes in opposition: U.S., Israel, Canada, Micronesia, Nauru, Panama, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
The Israeli naval forces plan to enforce Tel Aviv’s claim over sea-based gas resources off Israel, including one belonging to Lebanon and another, which extends into the country’s waters.
The resources, including Lebanon’s Tamar field, which — situated in the Mediterranean Sea — holds an estimated 8.4 trillion cubic feet (238 billion cubic meters) of natural gas. They cover an area about 1.5 times the size of Israel, AFP reported.
Tel Aviv — which enjoys heavy material, financial, and other kinds of support from the West — claims harvesting the fields would boost its energy independence.
Lebanon also owns a major part of Leviathan — another targeted resource, which is located in the joint regional waters between Lebanon and northern Palestine in the Mediterranean. The field is thought to hold natural gas resources of around 16 trillion cubic feet (450 billion cubic meters).
The Navy would present the plan to Tel Aviv at the end of the month.
Last year, Israel threatened to use military force to capture Leviathan.
The Speaker of the Parliament of Lebanon, Nabih Berri reacted by saying that “Israel is racing to make the case a fait accompli and was quick to present itself as an oil emirate, ignoring the fact that, according to the maps, the deposit extends into Lebanese waters.”
Monday, 21 February 2011
The Palestine Chronicle
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4. The Guardian Tuesday 22 February 2011 19.18 GMT
Israeli foreign minister accused of apartheid in attempted citizen’s arrest
Avigdor Lieberman targeted in Brussels by journalist David Cronin, who previously tried to arrest Tony Blair for war crimes
Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s foreign minister, addresses a news conference at the European council in Brussels. Photograph: Francois Lenoir/Reuters An Irish journalist has attempted a citizen’s arrest of the Israeli foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, outside a meeting of the EU-Israel Association council in Brussels.
“Mr Lieberman, this is a citizen’s arrest. You are charged with the crime of apartheid. Please accompany me to the nearest police station,” David Cronin told the Israeli minister as he entered the press room of the European council.
Cronin, a freelance journalist who has written for the Economist, the Inter Press Service news agency and the Guardian’s Comment is Free, was restrained by security guards and escorted from the building, shouting “Free Palestine”.
It is not the first time Cronin, a member of the Brussels press corps since 1998, has attempted such a manoeuvre. Last March he placed his arm on Tony Blair and announced that the former prime minister was under citizen’s arrest for his role in the invasion of Iraq.
On that occasion, his press pass was revoked but returned after a warning. The reporter was released without charge after the latest incident . However, Cronin reports that the head of security for the council has informed him that this time the pass will be permanently revoked.
“He told me: ‘If you come into my house, you have to behave yourself.’ It’s a price I’m willing to pay though. Apartheid – the domination by one racial group over another – has been recognised as a crime by the UN since 1973. Israel is an apartheid state, both in the occupied territories and in Israel itself.”
Cronin, the author of a new book on EU-Israel relations, returned last week from a tour of Israel and the Palestinian territories organised by the Jimmy Carter Centre and bookshops in Tel Aviv, Ramallah and Jerusalem.
Yoel Mester, a spokesman for the Israeli mission to the EU, said the ambassador will not be pressing for tighter security for future visits of Israeli dignitaries. “This was utterly uncivilised, in bad taste. But Israel, like the EU, is very supportive of free speech. It’s just a shame that some people take advantage of that freedom sometimes.”
He characterised the 39-year-old journalist as “obviously obsessed with Israel; judging by what he’s written, a dedicated anti-Israel activist”.
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5. Washington Post Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Gaddafi vows to ‘die as a martyr,’ refuses to relinquish power
SANAA, YEMEN – In a defiant speech on state television Tuesday, Libyan strongman Moammar Gaddafi rejected demands that he relinquish power, even as leaders of a popular revolt seized control in some areas and top officials resigned to protest attacks on civilians.
“I will not leave the country, and I will die as a martyr,” Gaddafi, 68, said in the lengthy but disjointed address.
The Libyan leader, whose government has been weakened in recent days even as it has brutally cracked down on mass protests, also said “damn those who try to stir unrest.” He blamed the six-day-old popular revolt on “mercenaries” and foreign influences.
With the United Nations convening an emergency meeting on Libya and the Arab League planning to weigh in as well, Gaddafi’s vicious crackdown against demonstrators appeared to be fast eroding whatever support had existed for his government.
In Washington, Libya’s ambassador to the United States announced he had decided to “resign from serving the current dictatorship.” He called on the United States to “raise its voice very strongly” to help oust Gaddafi, who assumed power in a 1969 military coup.
“This regime is shaking, and this is the time to get rid of him,” Ambassador Ali Suleiman Aujali said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “The people are being kill[ed] in a brutal way. The people, they are armless, and the regime, they have all kind of weapons.”
On Capitol Hill, Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) said the Libyan government’s violence was “beyond despicable” and called for international sanctions, including the immediate cessation of operations in Libya by U.S. and other foreign oil companies.
Aujali said anti-government activists have taken control in the eastern part of Libya, an oil-rich North African nation where dissent and free expression have long been prohibited. The western part of the country, including the capital, Tripoli, remain in Gaddafi’s hands, he said.
“We need the world to stand up by us,” Aujali told GMA host George Stephanopolous. “We have to support the Libyan people. The world must take an action.”
At the border with Egypt Tuesday, “people’s committees” were acting in the place of security personnel. Thousands of Egyptians and Libyans fled the country.
Ibrahim Dabbashi, Libya’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations, accused Gaddafi of killing his own people and urged the international community to act against the regime. “Either he has to get out or the Libyan people will kick him out,” Dabbashi said in an interview with the television network al-Jazeera. “It is the end of the game.”
In Triopli, residents reported that a heavy overnight rain had calmed the situation down. But the capital remained chaotic and volatile, with residents saying a new round of mass demonstrations was planned.
One resident said via e-mail that there were no ambulances available, in part because some of them had been shot up and set ablaze by Libyan mercenaries working to protect Gaddafi’s regime. There were “reports of mercenaries riding in ambulances and shooting at people,” said the resident, who asked that his name not be used because he feared for his security.
In the Tajoura, an enclave on the eastern end of the capital, there were reports of dead bodies and injured people left on the streets because air strikes had blocked access to the area, the resident said.
It is impossible to verify the scope or precise details of the events unfolding in Libya. Foreign journalists have been denied visas, and Internet access, phone service and other forms of communications have been largely cut.
But in interviews with Libyan residents, exiles and diplomats, as well as in videos posted online, a picture unfolded of a nation in the throes of the bloodiest revolution to emerge so far from the populist upheavals sweeping across the Middle East and North Africa.
Human Rights Watch said at least 223 people were killed Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The group did not report Monday’s toll. Al-Jazeera television, quoting medical sources, said at least 61 people were killed in the protests in Tripoli overnight Sunday.
In a statement, Kerry, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the Gaddafi government’s “use of deadly force against its own people should mean the end of the regime itself. It’s beyond despicable, and I hope we are witnessing its last hours in power.”
While Gaddafi himself “is irredeemable,” Kerry said, “his senior military commanders need to know that their acquiescence in atrocities could open them to future international war crimes charges.” He called on foreign oil companies to stop operating in Libya until the violence against civilian ends and said the Obama administration should consider reimposing U.S. sanctions that were lifted during the George W. Bush administration.
Kerry also called on the U.N. Security Council to “condemn the violence and explore temporary sanctions, including an arms embargo and protection for Libyan civilian centers.” He urged the Arab League to get involved and said the African Union should “vigorously investigate reports that African mercenaries are involved in the atrocities in Libya.”
The U.N. Security Council was expected to meet Tuesday to discuss the crisis. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for an immediate end to the violence. “Such attacks against civilians, if confirmed, would constitute a serious violation of international humanitarian law,” his spokesman said.
In the Egyptian town of Masra Matrouh, two hours from the border, thousands of Egyptians and some Libyans and Westerners who had fled the unrest gathered Tuesday, searching for transportation to points elsewhere in Egypt.
A gaggle of men sat with packed bags, blankets and a television set at the OiLibya gas station. On the roads, vans packed with medical aid rushed west to the border in hopes of entering Libya, where hundreds are believed to have been killed and injuring in the military crackdown.
Vans heading east into Egypt from Libya were piled with suitcases and people fleeing the unrest.
CNN correspondent Ben Wedeman reported that he had crossed the border from Egypt into eastern Libya and found the opposition apparently in control of the region.
There were “no officials, no passport control, no customs” on the Libyan side, Wedeman wrote on his blog. Local security forces appeared to have defected to the opposition, he wrote, though there were still Gaddafi loyalists operating in eastern Libya as well.
On Monday, two Libyan fighter jets landed in Malta, after their pilots reportedly chose to defect rather than carry out orders to bomb Libya’s second-largest city, Benghazi, the cradle of the six-day-old uprising.
Tribal and religious leaders condemned Gaddafi for the attacks against civilians; some urged all Muslims to rise against him. Influential Muslim cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi told al-Jazeera that he urged any Libyan soldier who has the opportunity to kill Gaddafi – and issued a religious decree to that effect.
“I am issuing a fatwa now to kill Gaddafi,” the cleric said. “To any army soldier, to any man who can pull the trigger and kill this man to do so.”
Libyan Justice Minister Mustafa Mohamed Abud Al Jeleil resigned Monday, according to the country’s Quryna newspaper. The country’s ambassador to India, Ali al-Essawi, accused the Gaddafi government of deploying foreign mercenaries against the protesters. In total, at least seven senior Libyan diplomats stepped down Monday, including Libya’s representative to the Arab League.
The defectors included Mohamed Abdul, 36, a cultural affairs official at the Libyan consulate in London, who walked off the job to join an anti-Gaddafi rally. He was greeted with rousing cheers, and four demonstrators hoisted him onto their shoulders, parading him around in glee.
“We can’t work for this regime anymore,” Abdul said. “The shocking video of people being killed on the streets is too much.
“The next step is to get our bosses and the ambassador out,” he said, adding that nearly 12 other officials from the consulate had also defected.
In Tripoli on Monday, residents reported seeing heavily armed mercenaries hunting down demonstrators as buildings burned, looters ransacked police stations, and fighter jets and helicopter gunships rained ammunition from the skies.
Earlier, there were street celebrations in Benghazi, where anti-government demonstrators had reportedly taken control of the city from Libyan security forces. Even there, buildings smoldered, plumes of black smoke rising to the sky. Sirens from ambulances melded with the sound of gun battles throughout the day.
As the conflict escalated, the United States ordered all nonessential diplomats and embassy family members to leave the country. Western oil companies also removed nonessential workers.
There were reports that Gaddafi’s security forces had retreated to a few strategic buildings, including the presidential palace. By Monday night, however, fearful residents in Tripoli reported seeing Gaddafi’s loyalists roaming their neighborhoods in search of protesters as the aerial assaults continued.
“Groups of Land Cruisers with masked men wearing military uniforms with heavy guns just passed in front of my street heading to downtown,” the resident of Tripoli messaged via Skype. “They are the regime’s guards. God help us tonight. . . . Helicopters are shooting down on people on the ground in Tripoli.”
Gaddafi has governed Libya largely through a constellation of revolutionary committees. In Libya, tribal and clan identities are considered more significant than the national identity, and Gaddafi has skillfully played the tribes against one another to keep control.
The military and security forces are also shaped along tribal lines, unlike the tightly knit militaries of Egypt and Tunisia. In addition, Gaddafi has relied heavily on foreign fighters to fill out the ranks of his security forces.
The violence Monday erupted after a late-night speech by Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the leader’s son and heir apparent. In a televised address, he warned that tribal and clan loyalties would plunge the country into civil war if his father was ousted. While he offered some promises of reforms, the younger Gaddafi mainly threatened Libyans that anarchy would erase the country’s oil wealth and usher in economic turmoil. He also vowed that his father and family would fight to the “last bullet.”
On Monday, the younger Gaddafi publicly denied that fighter jets had attacked civilians, saying that they had been deployed to bomb munitions depots around the capital. Protesters disputed that assertion.
raghavans@washpost.com fadell@washpost.com
Fadel reported from Masra Matrouh, Egypt. Correspondents Anthony Faiola in London and Janine Zacharia in Manama, Bahrain, special correspondents Sherine Bayoumi in Cairo and Karla Adam in London and staff writers William Branigin and Mary Beth Sheridan in Washington contributed to this report.
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 22 Feb — The five tents giving shelter to some 50 Bedouin residents of Amniyr, a tiny community north of Susiya in the south Hebron hills, were torn down on Monday, their olive trees uprooted and water sources covered over. An observer with the Christian Peacemaker Teams said Israeli demolition crews arrived before sunrise, at about 5:30 a.m., and began taking down the tents, then filled a well and a water cistern with earth … Residents had moved back to the area during the winter, saying settler harassment at a second location one kilometer away had driven them out. Years earlier the same harassment had forced them from the location where the tents were demolished.
Israeli notices to demolish agricultural facilities in Hebron
HEBRON, 21 Feb (WAFA) — Israeli forces Monday handed five Palestinians notices to demolish their agricultural facilities in Beit Ula, a town west of Hebron.
Court to debate sealing mosque in West Bank village Burin
JPost 21 Feb — The village has refuted the claim of illegality on the ground that it believes the mosque is located in Area B … The state, in turn, has claimed that the mosque is located within its jurisdiction, in Area C …On Sunday, the state rejected Burin’s compromise gesture of sealing the turret, and insisted, in a response that it filed to the court on the matter, that the entire mosque be sealed. The court addressed the issue of the mosque after it received a petition from Regavim, a non-governmental group that monitors illegal Palestinian construction in Area C.
Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 20 Feb — A resident of Beit Suhur village south of Jerusalem was forced to demolish his own home under orders of the Jerusalem Municipality yesterday, 19 February. Ramzi Shehadeh Attun demolished his 70 square meter home after he was threatened by the Jerusalem Municipality with a fine of 70,000 NIS to have it demolished by the state, citing “irregularities” in his building permit … [Attun] added that ‘I thought that I had finally achieved the dream of building a home for my family – there are 7 of us. But today we are homeless.’
Senior UN official condemns Israeli demolition of Palestinian shelter
UN 21 Feb — A senior United Nations official today condemned the demolition of temporary tented structures sheltering families from the weather in Khirbet Tana near the West Bank city of Nablus, the second such incident affecting this community this month.
[with good photos] 21 Feb — Khirbet Yerza is a small village with few dozens of inhabitants. It used to count hundreds of inhabitants before the 1967 occupation as its underground is full of water and thus very fertile … Some families had tooken off the roofs of their barracks before the army arrived in order to save some materials. But soldiers saw some hidden metal sheets and drove over it in order to destroy it … Most of the families living in Khirbet Yerza own the land and have lived in this area for more than 100 years. All the families of the area received a new demolition order before the army left the place.
JENIN, 21 Feb (WAFA) — Israeli forces accompanied with employees of the Israeli Water Authority Monday inspected all water wells in Kafr Dan, a village west of Jenin. Israeli forces regularly launch sweep campaigns on water wells in this area to demolish the artesian wells which farmers use to irrigate their crops.
Suffering there and back: the story of the Palestinians who build illegal settlements
22 Feb — Mustafa Sabri — Qalqiliya – PNN/Exclusive — Raed, an electrician, makes at least a 15 kilometer journey every day from his home city of Qalqiliya in the northern West Bank, to one of the 23 surrounding illegal Israeli settlements. One day, PNN accompanied him to witness his long hours.
Ynet 21 Feb — Municipality officials say politicians intervened to dismiss plans for east Jerusalem construction – Jerusalem Municipality’s local planning and construction committee announced Monday it would not approve plans to expand the Jewish Har Homa neighborhood in east Jerusalem. The announcement came just a few days after the US vetoed a UN vote to condemn construction in settlements, causing speculation that the plans were not approved due to political pressure. … Har Homa is subject to international scrutiny because it was built beyond the 1967 border after the Oslo Accords were signed. The new plans would expand the neighborhood by some 60 acres – including dozens of homes, eight synagogues, a kindergarten, a swimming pool, and more.
EI 21 Feb – On the afternoon of 7 February 2011, masked Israeli settlers from Havat Maon outpost chased a group of twelve Palestinian schoolchildren who were walking home from school … Since 2004, Christian Peacemaker Teams and Operation Dove have documented more than 110 acts of settler aggression against Palestinian schoolchildren from Tuba and Maghayir al-Abeed villages in the South Hebron Hills .. . The details of the attacks may vary, but the crux of every incident is the same: the Israeli military fails to arrive in order to escort the schoolchildren past Maon settlement and Havat Maon settlement outpost; the children are forced to walk an indirect route without escort; settlers emerge from the outpost and chase or assault the children.
Ynet 21 Feb — Court issues incredibly light sentence to 19-year old after accepting plea of ‘youthful frivolity’ — A 19-year old settler was sentenced to just 100 hours of community service Monday, without a conviction, for stealing weapons and ammunition from IDF warehouses in the West Bank … In February of 2008 stun and gas grenades, ammunition for M-16 rifles, sniper rifles, and sub-machine guns, and a spike barrier were stolen from an IDF warehouse.
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) — Israeli forces on Monday shot and injured a Palestinian man during clashes in Jerusalem, witnesses said. Onlookers said Israeli forces fired into the air and then sprayed bullets at a group of young men, injuring a resident of Al-Isawiya. [End]
Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 21 Feb — Sporadic clashes are continuing to erupt throughout Bir Ayyub district of Silwan, with Israeli troops firing tear gas grenades arbitrarily throughout the neighborhood. Eyewitnesses have confirmed that Israeli forces have provoked confrontations by firing gas in otherwise quiet, residential areas. An unknown number of Palestinian residents are suffering asphyxiation due to tear gas inhalation and several Palestinian ambulances were seen arriving on the scene.
Ynet 22 Feb — Only two weeks after his release from prison, Islamic Movement leader is once again behind bars. Police suspect he set forest on fire in south in protest of JNF work
Israeli army arrests teenagers at protest north of Tulkarem
ISM 20 Feb — Eight young Palestinian men were arrested by the Israeli military yesterday in the village of Deir Al Ghusun, north of Tulkarem. Three of them remain in custody, Jala Anwar, Omar Abu Safa and Sohayb Abu Shakra, all aged 17 years. The teenagers were taking part in a protest against the illegal Israeli separation barrier
Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 21 Feb — Israeli troops stormed Silwan at dawn today, arresting 6 youths from Ein al-Luza and Baten al-Hawa districts of Silwan. Four of the detained children are under the age of 16, and one aged 18.
Center Director Jawad Siyam hits back at slanderous article in Israeli paper
Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 21 Feb — The Israeli newspaper Maariv published a slanderous article today against Wadi Hilweh Information Center director Jawad Siyam. The article, entitled “Double Job” lodges claims against Siyam of participating in demonstrations against Israeli authorities in Silwan while also taking money from the Jerusalem Municipality … The timing of the piece is no coincidence. Siyam tomorrow will attend the next hearing in a malicious assault case lodged against him by the Jerusalem police.
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 22 Feb — Hundreds of Gaza residents lined up at the Rafah crossing on Tuesday morning, when the border terminal opened for the first time since protesters took to Egypt’s streets demanding the ouster of the country’s leader … Palestinians in Gaza need medical referrals, student visas to foreign countries or residency rights abroad in order to exit the Strip, and must seek permission from both the Gaza government and Egyptian authorities before they can cross through Rafah.
Human rights centers: Israel must stop manipulating Gaza patients, escorts
RAMALLAH, 21 Feb (WAFA) — Three human rights Centers, Adalah, Al-Mezan and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, Sunday called on Israel to stop manipulating Gaza patients and their escorts, in a joint press release. The centers called on the Israeli security authorities to stop the manipulation of the most basic humanitarian needs of medical patients from Gaza as means of coercing them and their families … The centers labeled the Israeli security’s policy of arresting patients or escorts after being given permits or clearance to pass Erez as “a policy that constitutes cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment.”
People’s Daily 22 Feb — A Palestinian report released Tuesday indicated a 70-percent drop in imports to the Gaza Strip since Israel imposed a blockade on the enclave in June 2007. The report, which was made by Palestine Trade Center, observed the performance of commercial crossing point between Gaza and Israel from 1997 to the beginning of 2011.
In Gaza, Mubarak’s name easier to erase than his legacy / Mohammed Omer
RAFAH, occupied Gaza Strip (IPS) 21 Feb — It was easy enough to rename Mubarak Children’s Hospital the al-Tahrir Hospital in Gaza. Not so easy is the task of managing patients who need to cross over to the Egyptian side for treatment, or come back in.
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 22 Feb — Israeli authorities informed Palestinian liaison officers that the southernmost crossing, Kerem Shalom, would open Tuesday for the limited delivery of goods … The Palestinian official added that Israel would allow the export of two truckloads of flowers, harvested in Gaza, to European countries. Exports to the West Bank remain prohibited.
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 22 Feb — The director of Gaza’s sole power plant was reported missing by relatives Tuesday, who said they had not heard from him since he left the Ukraine five days ago after visiting his brother. Family members say they fear Dirar Abu Sisi was abducted … Upon his entry to the Ukraine in late January, family members said, Abu Sisi had been interrogated and his passport was confiscated.
ANERA/Gaza – PNN – 21 Feb — The ground outside may not be ready for planting yet but inside Hanna El-Mosader’s greenhouse, lettuce, cucumbers and peppers are already blooming. Her tomatoes, melons and eggplants should be ready for harvesting in another month or so … Hanna’s family is one of 35 in Gaza who received a greenhouse, farming supplies, a water tank, an irrigation system and seedlings.
Stinking collective punishment in West Bank village Nabi Saleh
AIC 21 Feb — During the weekly demonstration in the West Bank village of Nabi Salah against the creeping annexation of their lands by the area settlements, the Israeli army imposed a particularly stinking collective punishment. For several long minutes, soldiers emptied the containers of skunk water on houses in the centre of the village, also spraying the roofs of homes on which the residents collect rain water. The soldiers further sprayed the village cemetery with the skunk water. Israel’s massive use of tear gas and skunk water in the centre of the village was done with no intention of dispersing the demonstration, which had already ended by this time, but to stink up the homes of the residents and to contaminate their water sources.
Latrun villagers protest Canada-Jewish National Fund relations
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 21 Feb — Vigils were held outside Canadian representative offices in Ramallah and Tel Aviv Monday, to protest Jewish National Fund charitable status in Canada in light of its building of Canada Park on Palestinian village ruins inside the 1967 Green Line. The park was built on land from the villages Imwas, Yalo, and Bayt Nuba, near Latrun, that were destroyed in the 1967 war that saw Israeli capture the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordanian control … A memorandum requesting Canadian divestment of JNF preferred tax status and a meeting for families of the displaced with the Canadian ambassador to Israel was received by the Canadian representative in Ramallah and delivered to the embassy in Tel Aviv.
GAZA CITY (AFP) 21 Feb — Hamas on Monday shrugged off calls for reconciliation with Fatah, saying its secular rival must prove its seriousness by freeing prisoners … “The only real way towards reconciliation is to stop the arrests, free the detainees and allow the movement’s charities to start helping the Palestinian people again,” he told AFP.
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) — Eighty-one Palestinian non-profit organizations from the West Bank, Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip issued a statement Monday calling on rival Palestinian factions to “take practical steps toward ending the disagreement.” … With positive steps, the organization said, an agreement can be finalized to restructure the Palestine Liberation Organization “so it becomes representative to the Palestinian national movement including all its parties.”
Gaza protest against Moammar Gadhafi calls Libyan dictator ‘enemy of God’
AP 22 Feb — Hundreds of students in Gaza City have rallied in support of Libyan protesters who are trying to topple longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi. About 1,500 Islamic University students marched Tuesday. Some held signs reading “Gadhafi is the enemy of God.” Gadhafi has ruled Libya for over four decades. He has been a staunch supporter of the Palestinians.
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 22 Feb — Fatah-bloc legislator Faysal Abu Shahla denied reports on Tuesday that only Fatah lawmakers were being nominated for ministerial posts in the new Palestinian Authority cabinet. “The reports are groundless,” Abu Shahla said, stressing that Fatah officials decided during internal party meetings that the focus of the new cabinet should be on Gaza.
EU tells Israel Mideast turmoil makes peace talks imperative
BRUSSELS (AP) 22 Feb — The European Union is telling Israel that growing instability in the Middle East makes it imperative to immediately resume the stalled peace process with the Palestinians.
Ynet 21 Feb — City officials say embassy poses security threat to surroundings; demands it be moved to an alternate site within a year. Ambassador: No one wants to sell us property … A Foreign Ministry official said the affair is indicative of a new low in Israel-Norway relations.
PNA requests Israel to allow Palestinians in Libya to return to West Bank and Gaza
GulfNews 22 Feb — Ramallah: Israel is considering a request by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to allow all Palestinians living in Libya to return to the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The Israeli Public Radio confirmed that the request has been submitted to Israel, which is reviewing it … Around 20,000 Palestinians live in Libya and the PNA expects Israeli approval for their return to the West Bank and Gaza Strip on humanitarian grounds. A senior PNA official told Gulf News that hope of approval from Israel is very low.
Visit by Chilean miners leaves Palestinians feeling jilted
Haaretz 21 Feb — PA diplomats in Santiago complained to Chilean foreign ministry that although miners are scheduled to visit Bethlehem and Ramallah, the visit that has been described solely as a ‘trip to Israel’ … Chile is home to the largest Palestinian community outside of the Middle East, roughly 300,000-strong, with two-thirds of its members Christians … Recently, tensions with the country’s Jewish population (roughly 15,000-strong ) flared over Chile’s recognition of Palestinian independence
JERUSALEM (AFP) 21 Feb — Israel worked with Chile to spy on the Iranian ambassador in Santiago as Tel Aviv grew increasingly concerned about Tehran’s influence in South America, a leaked US cable from 2008 showed.
CAIRO (AFP) 22 Feb — Two Iranian naval ships transited the Suez Canal on Tuesday for the first time since the Islamic revolution, bound for the Mediterranean on a purported training mission that Israel calls a provocation.
Ynet 21 Feb — Both left, right-wing organizations will have to issue quarterly reports naming foreign sources providing them with funds, according to bill passed by Knesset after vote on committees to probe left-wing groups postponed
Israeli Arab parents more concerned with homework than Jewish counterparts, study shows
Haaretz 22 Feb — Researchers say differences reflect different views about the wider role of education as an instrument of social mobility — Only 37 percent of Israel’s Jewish parents believe it is important to do homework, compared to 60 percent of Arab parents, a new study has found. A poll of students showed a similar gap: Only 58 percent of Jewish students said they did all the homework they were assigned at school, as compared to 78 percent of Arab students.
Hamas bans male hairdressers from working in women’s salons
Ynet 21 Feb — Five hairdressers were interrogated by Gaza Strip authorities because they were employed at hair salons intended for women only, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights reported. The hairdressers were released only after agreeing to sign a statement in which they promised not to work in women’s salons in the future.
Ynet 21 Feb — Number of Druze doctors, combat medics is on rise; record number of Druze to become MDs before enlisting in IDF. ‘That is how they can bridge gap,’ IDF minority directorate chief says
Israel introduces inspection robot at West Bank crossing points
Xinhua 21 Feb — An Israeli army battalion has recently tested out a four-wheeled robot called EyeDrive at a crossing point between Israel and the northern West Bank near the town of Tulkarm, the Army Radio reported Sunday. The device was put through its paces by inspecting the underside of Palestinian cars and trucks, said the Army Radio. The operator instructs the EyeDrive to roll beneath the vehicle being checked and scan for suspicious objects and contraband, as well as sending a live video feed to the operator.
Israel mulls security impact of Google Street View
JERUSALEM (AFP) 21 Feb — Israeli ministers on Monday discussed the security and privacy implications of allowing Google Street View to photograph streets in Israel ahead of the launch here of the 3D-mapping service.
Israel and US successfully test anti-missile system
AP 22 Feb — The Arrow anti-missile system, jointly developed by Israel and the U.S., is primarily aimed at defending Israel from threat of Iran missile strike.
AL-RAM, Palestinian Territories (AFP) 22 Feb — The stadium was packed to the rafters with raucous fans, mostly female, who had turned out to watched the first-ever public encounter in the Palestinian women’s football league.
Another desperate letter from Guantánamo by Adnan Latif / Andy Worthington
David recently sent me a third letter, written on December 26, 2010, which I am reproducing below in the hope that it will keep Adnan’s plight in people’s minds, and will encourage readers to consider that a campaign to put pressure on the United States to honour its commitments to free prisoners cleared for release is necessary if the Obama administration is to avoid complaints that it is engaged in arbitrary detention, mocking its own procedures by holding men cleared for release, insulting the people of Yemen, and presiding over a system that is no longer holding men based on any spurious notion of justice, but is, instead, holding them as political prisoners.
http://www.uruknet.info/?new=75196
Top 100 arms makers raise sales 8% in 2009: study
STOCKHOLM, Feb 21 (Reuters) – Arms sales at the 100 biggest arms makers grew 8 percent in 2009, adjusted for currency fluctuations, to $401 billion, defying the global downturn, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said on Monday … Of the firms monitored, 78 were based in the United States and western Europe, generating 92 percent of the sales.
